Sixty or so migrants, most of them from Bangladesh, died in the sinking of their boat on Thursday night, off the coast of Tunisia, the Tunisian Red Crescent reported on Saturday. This sinking took place in the Mediterranean, where the ships of the anti-smuggling operation of the EU Sophia stopped to intervene and most of the humanitarian boats have difficulties to reach them.
"Migrants (survivors) said they left on Thursday in a big black boat carrying about 75 people from Zouara", a coastal town in Libya, 120 km west of Tripoli, said Mongi Slim, head of the Red Crescent. in southern Tunisia. "They were then transferred to a smaller, overloaded rubber dinghy, which capsized 10 minutes later, around midnight," said Slim.
"The migrants said they spent eight hours in cold water, and were rescued in extremis, by Tunisian fishermen who alerted the Tunisian navy," he said.
The research will continue
Three bodies were recovered Friday by the military ships dispatched on the spot, said for its part the Tunisian Ministry of Defense. Three vessels are expected to continue the search on Saturday, said ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri.
Among the survivors are 14 Bangladeshi including a minor, a Moroccan, and an Egyptian, said the Red Crescent, who felt that there was no hope for other migrants. These survivors told the Red Crescent that the boat, which was traveling to Italy, was carrying only men, including 51 Bangladeshi, three Egyptians, several Moroccans, but also Chadians and people from other countries. Africa.
"One of the worst incidents in the Mediterranean in recent months"
"If the Tunisian fishermen had not seen them, there would have been no survivors and we probably would have never been informed of this sinking," said Mongi Slim. Deploring "one of the worst incidents in the Mediterranean in recent months," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees called on Friday to strengthen relief capabilities throughout the area, as the illegal departures resume with the arrival Good weather.
"If we do not act now, it is almost certain that we will see new tragedies in the coming weeks and months," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's Special Envoy for the Mediterranean. In early 2019, UNHCR stressed that "the Mediterranean has been for several years the world's deadliest sea lane for refugees and migrants, with a death rate that has increased sharply" in 2018.