Migrants, shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia: 19 dead

ServiceThe emergency This was announced to Reuters by an official of the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights26 March 2023 Migrants, 78 rescued on a drifting rubber boat3′ read At least 29 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died off the coast of Tunisia in cause of the sinking of the boat they were on while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy: an official of the Tunisian Forum for social and economic rights made it known to Reuters. The press agency, which reports the news on its website, does not specify when the tragedy occurred. The Tunisian coastguard rescued 5 people from the boat off the coast of Mahdia, added the NGO official, stating that the migrants had left from the beaches of Sfax. The Tunisian route Dozens of barges, dinghies and small boats leaving the port of Sfax organized in groups or prey to smugglers. The flood of migrants crossing the Tunisian route to reach the Italian coasts seems uncontainable: in the last 24 hours there have been over three thousand migrants who have set off and more than sixty have disembarked. In the North African state, the economic crisis and political tension has caused a vertiginous increase in migratory flows which is now alarming Europe and the Italian government. Countries of origin But Tunis is only a transit area for setting sail for the Mediterranean: The refugees who leave are originally from Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Guinea, Sierra Leone, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco and Burkina Faso, many say they paid three thousand Tunisian dinars for the crossing. And the activity of the local Coast Guard is relentless, reporting that in the last three days they have thwarted 79 departure attempts, rescuing 2,982 people aboard boats in difficulty off the coast of Sfax and Chebba. The rescues The rescues also continue in the Italian SAR (search and rescue) area. There are 2,500 migrants already rescued by our authorities, between Sicily and Calabria, under the coordination of the Coast Guard. Another 190 shipwrecked are on board the Geo Barents, the ship of Doctors Without Borders, bound for the port of Bari while 78 were recovered by Emergency Life Support in Maltese waters. In Lampedusa, in addition to the people rescued by the NGO-ship Louise Michel financed by Banksy, another 294 arrived in various autonomous landings. Lampedusa The hotspot in the Imbriacola district, already overloaded, has reached a record of over 2,250 arrivals in twenty-four hours compared to just under four hundred places and around fifty landings have been recorded on the island. Rescues and arrivals are increasing, but the deaths are also multiplying. The Coast Guard ship Diciotti is expected to arrive in Lampedusa in the early afternoon, which during the night left its moorings from Pozzallo (Ragusa) and headed towards the Pelagie islands. There will be around 600, but the total number is still being defined, the migrants who will leave the Imbriacola district hotspot and will be moved with the Diciotti.