Nine migrants found dead off Tunisia on vessel headed to Europe from Libya

On Thursday, the coast guard of Tunisia discovered nine deceased migrants on board a boat that was drifting in the Mediterranean off the shore of Zarzis, in the southern port.

The National Guard stated in a statement that the boat, which was carrying around 50 people of different nationalities, had "sustained damage caused by water getting in".

The boat sailed from neighboring Libya toward Europe, according to Tunisian media.

The provincial prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the death, spokesperson Lassad Horr told the media.

“It’s very likely that they died after being overwhelmed by the fuel fumes at the bottom of the boat,” Horr said.

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He said that the travelers, who were all men, were from Syria, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Pakistan.

The main entry sites into North Africa for thousands of undocumented migrants who risk their lives every year to seek better opportunities in Europe are Tunisia and Libya.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 2,498 persons lost their lives or disappeared while attempting to cross the central Mediterranean in 2023, a 75% increase from 2022.

(With agency inputs)