At least 80 migrants died after the boat they were traveling on capsized off Tunisia on Thursday.

The migrants were headed to Europe from Libya when their capsized in the Mediterranean.

A survivor told Reuters at the Liwa refugee centre in Tunisia that he and three others survived by sitting on a piece of wood for two days. Malian Souleyman Couibaly said they had taken the wood from the capsized boat.

“There were a lot of dead people. A lot of dead people then the doctor is helping me so I can get upstairs. We are looking at the sea to search for boats passing, but we didn’t see any boats. We called the Europeans to pick us up, but their phone doesn’t ring. We were sitting in the water for three hours, the water is entering, the boat is sinking, the others fall, the water fills the boat and we are sinking. Only we were saved, the others are lost, dead in the water, we don’t know where they are. We took some wood that was inside the boat. We, four people, sat on the wood”, he recalls.

Last May, at least 65 migrants headed to Europe from Libya drowned when their boat capsized off Tunisia.

Libya’s west coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe through human traffickers.

But the numbers have dipped due to an Italian-led effort to interrupt smuggling networks and support from the Libyan coast guard.

Libya has been in a turmoil after the death of long time leader Moamar Gaddafi in 2011. </s> July 4 (UPI) -- More than 80 people are missing after a boat carrying migrants sunk off the coast of Tunisia late Wednesday.

Three Malians were rescued and a fourth migrant died later in a hospital. The inflatable boat, which capsized near the town of Zarzis, set out from Zuwara, Libya, where migrants often embark on dangerous journeys in hope of reaching Europe. More than 80 people are feared dead.

Fishermen who came across the sinking boat were unable to find more than four people.

The sinking came after an airstrike on a migrant center in Tripoli, Libya, killed at least 40 people. The Government of National Accord blamed the Libyan National Army for the attack as conflict with the United Nations-backed Libyan transition government continues. The country has seen persistent internal conflict, leading to the death of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A group of 131 refugees were evacuated out of Libya to Niger in June, the UN Refugee Agency said. In May, 65 migrants died when a boat sank off the coast of Tunisia.

A record number of people worldwide, 41.3 million, were displaced from their home countries because of conflict and violence as of the end of 2018, according to a report from the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In the first six months of this year, 555 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, following 924 deaths in 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration. </s> More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

The boat capsized off the Tunisian coast. File pic

A boat carrying 86 migrants has sank in the Mediterranean - and 82 people have been reported missing.

Fishermen came across the sinking boat, nine miles from the town of Zarzis off the coast of Tunisia, late on Wednesday.

They were able to pull four men from the vessel but there was no trace of the other passengers, according to Lorena Lando, head of the International Organisation for Migration in Tunisia.

One of those rescued, a man from the Ivory Coast, died overnight in hospital.

Those on board are thought to have been migrants who had departed from the Libyan city of Zuwara.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe.

African migrants often depart from the west coast of Libya and head to Europe in search of a better life.

But many rely on human traffickers, and end up travelling in unsafe boats.

Aid workers have warned that the recent fighting in Libya could prompt more Libyans to flee their country.

However, an operation run by the Italians and the Libyan coast guard has seen a recent drop in the number of people sailing for Europe. </s> More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

The boat capsized off the Tunisian coast. File pic

Eighty-two people are missing after the boat they were in sank off the coast of Tunisia.

Tunisian fishermen came across the sinking boat near the town of Zarzis late on Wednesday.

They were able to pull out four men but there was no trace of any of the other passengers, according to Lorena Lando, head of the International Organization for Migration in Tunisia.

Those on board are thought to have been migrants.

One of those rescued, a man from the Ivory Coast, died overnight in hospital.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe. </s> Four men were pulled from sinking vessel with one later dying in hospital, says official

This article is more than 2 months old

This article is more than 2 months old

More than 80 people trying to reach Europe from Libya are feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, according to the UN migration agency.

The boat sank on Wednesday off the port town of Zarzis and 82 of the migrants who had been onboard were missing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. Fishermen pulled four men from the sinking boat, said Lorena Lando, the agency’s head in Tunisia. One of the four died later in hospital.

A government source said the survivors, who were rescued nine miles (14.5km) off Zarzis, informed coastguards they had set out from Libya and that dozens had drowned.

Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the IOM, tweeted: “More updates are needed in order to confirm what happened and the actual number of missing.”

At least 65 people heading for Europe from Libya drowned last May when their boat capsized off Tunisia.

Libya’s western coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe with the help of human traffickers, though numbers have dropped because of an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coastguard.

Although fighting in Libya has made the situation more difficult for those involved in people-trafficking rackets, international aid officials have warned it could also prompt Libyans to flee the country.

On Wednesday, an airstrike on a Libyan migrant detention centre killed at least 53 people. It was reported that guards shot at detainees trying to flee the attack. The UN and aid groups blamed the airstrike deaths in part on the EU’s policy of partnering with Libyan militias to prevent people from trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. </s> Dozens dead after migrant boat sinks off Tunisian coast

Posted

The UN says at least 65 migrants died after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia as they travelled from Libya to Europe.

Key points: The boat was travelling from Libya, where warfare has gripped the capital Tripoli in the past five weeks

The Tunisian navy brought 16 survivors to the coast, and said fishing boats had rescued them

In the first four months of 2019, 164 people were known to have died on the route

The state-run Tunis Afrique Presse agency gave a death toll of at least 70 people. It was one the deadliest shipwrecks involving migrants trying to reach Europe this year.

In the first four months of 2019, 164 people were known to have died on the route, a smaller number but higher death rate than in previous years, with one dying for every three who reach European shores, UNHCR said.

"This is a tragic and terrible reminder of the risks still faced by those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean.

UNHCR said the sunken boat had taken to the sea on Thursday from neighbouring Libya, where renewed warfare between rival factions has gripped the capital Tripoli in the past five weeks.

The Tunisian navy brought 16 survivors to the coast at Zarzis, where one was immediately taken to hospital and the others awaited permission to disembark, UNHCR said.

The Tunisian agency said the boat had sunk 40 miles off the coast of Sfax, south of the capital Tunis, and that fishing boats had rescued the survivors.

Governments called on to step in

Tunisia's defence ministry said the boat had left from the Libyan port of Zouara aiming to reach Italy. Navy units have recovered only three bodies so far, it said in a statement.

Libya's west coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe by paying human traffickers, though numbers have dropped due to an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coast guard.

Earlier on Friday, UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said the United Nations had repeatedly voiced its concerns about the lack of boats to pick up migrants and refugees fleeing from "the horrendous and horrible situation" in Libya. It called on governments to step in.

Although the fighting in Libya has made the situation more difficult for people-trafficking rackets, international aid officials have warned that it could also prompt more Libyans to flee their country.

It was not immediately known from which countries the migrants involved in Friday's tragedy were from.

According to UN agency the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2,297 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year out of a total of 116,959 people who reached Europe by sea.

Some 117 migrants who left Libya in a rubber dinghy in January went missing and most remain unaccounted for, according to the IOM.

Reuters/ABC

Topics: refugees, immigration, community-and-society, libyan-arab-jamahiriya, tunisia </s> At least 80 are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Tunisian coast, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration has said.

Flavio Di Giacomo wrote on Twitter on Thursday: "A shipwreck occurred off the Tunisian coast, 4 survivors have been rescued and brought to Tunisia.

"They said that their dinghy was carrying 86 people.

"More updates are needed in order to confirm what happened and the actual number of missing."

Some of the survivors have told the Tunisian coast guard that the boat sunk off the town of Zarzis, Red Crescent official Mongi Slim told Reuters.

All four were transferred to a migrant sheltering centre in Zarzis, but one is confirmed to have since died in a local hospital.

Giacomo estimated the total number of people currently missing to be 82.

He also said the ship had sailed "a few days ago" from Zwara, a port city in northwest Libya just 85 miles east of Zarzis.

At least 65 migrants drowned trying to reach Europe from Libya last May when their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast.

Beginning in 2015, large numbers of both refugees and economic migrants began arriving in Europe from the Middle East and North Africa.

People smugglers are able to charge thousands of dollars to ferry migrants across the Mediterranean, but often intentionally sink boats once at sea, forcing humanitarian agencies from Europe to stage rescues.

The influx has sparked fierce debate about the nature of Europe’s obligation to the new arrivals and how many should be allowed to stay.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours. </s> Up to 70 migrants drown after their boat sinks off Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — As many as 70 migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya drowned Friday when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, and at least 16 others on the boat were rescued, according to U.N. migration officials and Tunisia's state news agency.

The International Organization for Migration called it the deadliest migrant boat sinking since January, and it comes as overall migrant arrivals to Europe are decreasing.

The smuggling boat was coming from Libya when it sent a distress signal in international waters early Friday off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, according to an IOM official in Tunisia. She said between 60 and 70 people drowned.

Tunisia's state news agency TAP said 70 people drowned as the boat sank and that fishing boats rescued 16 others.

The survivors of the sinking are now being questioned and cared for by Tunisian authorities, the IOM official said. She said they included people from Bangladesh and Morocco, among other nationalities.

Joel Millman, an IOM spokesman in Geneva, said the reported death toll is the largest number of migrants killed since a Jan. 19 sinking in which 117 people were reported missing and presumed dead.

So far this year, 17,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea, about 30 percent fewer than the 24,000 arriving during the same period last year, according to the IOM. It said 443 people have reportedly died on dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings so far this year, compared to 620 deaths for the same period in 2018.

Libya's navy said Friday it rescued 213 Europe-bound African and Arab migrants off the Mediterranean coast this week. It said they were handed over to Libyan police after having received humanitarian and medical aid.

Lawless Libya in North Africa became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after an uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.

But human rights groups have strongly criticized Libya for its detention centers, saying migrants being sent back to Libya faced hunger, beatings, torture, rapes and a lack of medical care.

In addition, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive against the government in the Libyan capital of Tripoli last month. The U.N. health agency says 443 people have died, 2,110 have been wounded and nearly 60,000 have been displaced by the violence.

Angela Charlton in Paris and David Rising in Berlin contributed. </s> At least 46 migrants were killed when their boat sank off Tunisia's southern coast and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard, the defence ministry said on Sunday, one of the worst migrant boat accidents in recent years.

The rescue operation was ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The migrants were of Tunisian and other nationalities.

Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as Libya's coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened controls.

Security officials said the boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries.

A survivor said the captain had abandoned the boat after it started sinking to escape arrest by the coast guard.

"I survived by clinging to wood for nine hours," he said at a hospital in the southern city of Sfax where dozens of people gathered to look for survivors and identify dead relatives.

Unemployed Tunisians and other Africans often try to depart in makeshift boats from Tunisia to Sicily in Italy.

The North African country is in the middle of a deep economic crisis since the toppling of autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 threw Tunisia into turmoil with unemployment and inflation shooting up.

Separately, nine people including six children died on Sunday after a speedboat carrying 15 refugees sank off the coast of Turkey's southern province of Antalya, the Turkish coast guard said in a statement.

Reducing the flow of migrants into Italy is one of the aims of the anti-immigrant League party in Italy and its leader Matteo Salvini who was sworn in as the country's new interior minister on Friday.

Salvini and his party have promised to block the arrival of boat migrants from Africa and to deport up to 100,000 illegal immigrants per year.

"The objective is to save lives. And this is done by preventing the departures of the boats of death that are a business for some and a disgrace for the rest of the world," Salvini said in a statement, commenting on both the incidents.

"I will work to ensure that all the international organisations commit to stop departures, landings and deaths."

As of May 30, 32,080 people had reached Europe by sea so far this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on its website. Some 660 had died attempting the crossing, it said.

In October, a boat full of migrants sank after colliding with a Tunisian navy ship, killing at least 44.
The United Nations states that at least 65 people are dead after a boat sinks off the coast of Tunisia while carrying migrants from Libya to Europe.