Volunteers in Tunisia continued searching the sea for two people missing after a boat carrying 15 migrants sank off the southeastern coast. The Tunisian National Guard said 12 bodies had been recovered by Sunday, while one person survived after drifting at sea for about 48 hours before being rescued by a commercial vessel.
The sinking triggered violent protests in Ben Guerdane, where protesters burned tyres and blocked roads while police used tear gas to disperse crowds. Demonstrators demanded better living conditions and economic development, saying limited opportunities and years of marginalisation were driving young people to attempt dangerous crossings to Europe.
Search efforts continue off Zarzis
Footage verified by the source report showed volunteers from Zarzis leaving on fishing boats on Monday to look for the missing people. The boat sank late on Friday about 14 nautical miles, or 26km, off the coast of Zarzis after departing from a location between Zarzis and Ben Guerdane.
The vessel was believed to have been heading towards Italy. The Tunisian National Guard said 14 people on board were from Ben Guerdane and one was from Zarzis. Mostafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, said seven people on board were members of the same family.
Identifying the recovered bodies
A hospital in Ben Guerdane received at least 19 bodies recovered from the sea over two days, Abdelkebir told the Reuters news agency. It was not clear whether all of those bodies came from the boat that sank.
Genetic testing was being carried out to identify the bodies and establish how many people had been on board, according to Abdelkebir. That means the confirmed National Guard count for this boat and the larger number reported at the hospital should not be treated as the same total.
Protests follow the latest tragedy
The protests took place in Ben Guerdane on Sunday night after the deaths were reported. Some people in Tunisia have called for a national day of mourning. Lawmaker Imad Oulad Jibril described the sinking as a national tragedy, while the opposition Democratic Bloc party linked it to the country’s economic strains.
Tunisia’s southeastern coast is 145km from the Italian island of Lampedusa. The source report said the International Organization for Migration considers the central Mediterranean the world’s deadliest migration route and has recorded at least 821 migrants dead or missing there this year, more than twice the toll over the same period last year. Across the Mediterranean, the organisation recorded at least 1,065 deaths or disappearances.
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