China News Service, December 24. According to comprehensive foreign media reports, Tunisian authorities said that on the 24th local time, a vessel carrying illegal immigrants sank in the waters near Sfax Province of the country, killing dozens of people. It is believed that As many as 20 people are still missing. The Tunisian Navy is searching for it. At present, 5 survivors have been rescued.
According to Agence France-Presse, Tunisian Defense Ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri said that on the 24th, the coast guard salvaged the remains of 20 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
However, Khaled Hayouni, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, said that the remains of 15 immigrants were found.
Zekeri also told AFP that five immigrants have been rescued on board and the search operation is still in progress.
According to the Associated Press, Zekeri also quoted survivors as saying that the immigrant smuggling ship carried about 40 or 50 people and was supposed to go to Italy.
The Tunisian National Guard spokesman Ali Ayari said that the ship in the accident was overloaded and in poor condition. It encountered strong winds on the morning of the 24th, which may have caused the shipwreck.