More than 80 migrants, from the Libyan coast, are still missing after sinking off Tunisia, said Thursday, July 4 to AFP an official of the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

The latter was able to meet one of the three survivors in southern Tunisia, a Malian in his twenties "still in shock", who said that their inflatable boat was shipwrecked Monday, and that he had been saved in extremis on Wednesday.

"He specified that the boat had left Libya (for Italy, Ed) Monday at 6 am with 86 passengers, there was a leak, and under the effect of a crowd movement, the The boat overturned a few hours after departure, "said Wajdi Ben Mhamed, IOM manager for southern Tunisia.

"He does not know what has become of the others, they are missing, there is a probability that they are drowned," he added, after speaking with this survivor at Zarzis hospital, in the south.

"The death of 80 migrants is feared, more information is needed to confirm what happened and the exact number of missing," tweeted Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesperson.

Death of an Ivorian national

Four survivors, three Malians and an Ivorian, were rescued by the National Maritime Guard, alerted by fishermen, had previously told AFP Houcem Eddine Jebabli, spokesman for the National Guard. However, he could not provide further details.

The rescued Ivorian died Thursday at the hospital and one of the Malians is still hospitalized, in intensive care, told AFP the Red Crescent and a local officer of the National Maritime Guard.

According to a communiqué from the government presidency sent to AFP, Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed assured Wednesday during a visit to Zarzis that "the issue of refugees and migrants is not the responsibility of the Republic. Tunisian "but that" all countries must take responsibility. "

In recent weeks, dozens of exile candidates trying to rally Italy from western Libya have been rescued off Tunisia.

Seventy-five migrants, mostly Bangladeshi, rescued in the Mediterranean at the end of May, remained stranded for more than two weeks on the deck of a boat off Zarzis, before many of them were sent back to Bangladesh. IOM.

With AFP