The Tunisian National Guard recovered three bodies overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday off the country. The migrants had been missing since Sunday. Fifteen people in the same boat were then rescued by the coast guard.
On the night of Tuesday, September 6 to Wednesday, September 7, three drowned migrants were found at sea off Gabes, in southern Tunisia, the gendarmerie announced. These people had been missing for several days.
Their boat, which was trying to reach Europe, was shipwrecked on Sunday near the Tunisian coast. The coast guard had rescued 15 exiles, who had alerted to the disappearance of three other traveling companions.
In addition, two suspected smugglers were arrested, the National Guard said.
Increase in crossings of the Mediterranean
In recent days, there have been many attempts to cross from the Tunisian side, thanks to mild weather. Authorities have intercepted or rescued some 500 people in several operations since Friday, according to official figures.
This summer, migrant departures reached record levels, due in particular to a serious political and economic crisis in Tunisia. The country now has four million poor people out of a population of 12 million.
It is a large part of the youth who are now trying to take to the sea. At the beginning of August, the departure of the goalkeeper from Club Sportif Sfaxien had created a shock wave . Mohamed Ali Chelbi had made headlines in Tunisian newspapers by posting selfies on social networks, while he was in a migrant canoe bound for Italy.
“I chose illegal immigration because of the injustice I suffered in Tunisia. I applied for a visa and was refused. I have offers in Italy and there I am in a reception center”, explained the player from Italy, in an interview with Tunisian radio Mosaïque FM.
His case is not isolated. In February, Tunisian influencer Chaïma Ben Mahmoud also posted a video of her exile at sea on her TikTok account, as she headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa. The 21-year-old, followed by nearly 140,000 subscribers, had been strongly criticized, accused of conveying a glamorous and distorted vision of crossing the Mediterranean.
Indeed, the road to Italy can be extremely dangerous. Even if the distance that separates the Italian and Tunisian coasts is only 200 km, the strong currents and the boats in poor condition used by the exiles can lead to tragedies.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 1,000 people have died or disappeared in the central Mediterranean trying to reach Europe. Last year, they were just over 1,500.
