Two migrants die off Tunisia, 17 others rescued: National guard

Two Tunisian migrants, one of them a five-year-old child, died after their makeshift boat broke down off the country’s northern coast, with 17 others rescued, the National Guard has said.

One body was found aboard the vessel, while the dead child was recovered from the water, the National Guard said in a statement Monday.

It said maritime units had responded to a distress call Sunday “about a damaged vessel out at sea that began taking on water,” rescuing 17 out of 19 passengers.

“Five were rescued while fighting for their lives after they jumped off the boat,” it added.

Four people linked to organizing the crossing attempt were arrested, the statement said.

Tunisia is a key departure point for irregular migrants seeking to reach Europe. Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt the perilous Mediterranean crossing.

Italy, whose Lampedusa Island is only 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Tunisia, is often their first port of call.

The crossing has seen a spate of recent shipwrecks, exacerbated by bad weather.

On December 18, at least 20 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died in a shipwreck off the city of Sfax, with five others missing.

On December 12, the coastguard rescued 27 African migrants near Jebeniana, north of Sfax, but 15 were reported dead or missing.

In late October, 15 unidentified bodies were recovered off Mahdia, another key departure point.

And in September, 36 migrants – 20 Tunisians and 16 Egyptians – were rescued from a stranded boat near Nabeul.

Since the beginning of the year, the Tunisian human rights group FTDES has counted “between 600 and 700” migrants killed or missing in shipwrecks off Tunisia. More than 1,300 migrants died or disappeared in 2023.

Tunisia is grappling with a number of economic woes, marked by high inflation, unemployment, and sluggish growth.