At least 34 African migrants were missing on Friday when their boat collapsed off the coast of Tunisia, according to Tunisian authorities. The total number of missing migrants increased to 67 as a result of this calamity, which was the sixth in the previous two days.
The Italian coast guard reported on Thursday that it has saved some 750 migrants in two separate operations off the southern Italian coastline, hours after at least five people died and 33 went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.
According to Tunisian Judge Faouzi Masmoudi, the boat capsized off the coast of the city of Sfax, killing seven people, including babies and toddlers.
According to Houssem Jebabli, a National Guard spokesman, the Coast Guard halted 56 boats headed for Italy in only two days and detained more than 3,000 migrants, the most of them were from sub-Saharan African nations.
At least 12,000 migrants have landed in Italy from Tunisia this year, compared to just 1,300 at the same time period in 2022. Prior to recently, Libya was the main point of departure for migrants leaving the region
From the shores of Sfax, more and more people are leaving for Europe in pursuit of a better life after fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
Tunisia has been gripped by political instability ever since President Kais Saied assumed the bulk of the country's authority in July 2021, shutting down parliament and instituting government by decree.