12 Tunisians dead as boat capsizes off Djerba

Tunis — 

At least 12 Tunisians including three children were found dead after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of the southeastern island of Djerba on Monday, a judicial official said.

The boat went down at dawn and 29 people were rescued, Medenine court spokesman Fethi Baccouche told AFP, adding five men and four women were among the dead, and that the cause of the sinking remained unknown.

The Tunisian National Guard said it was alerted by four migrants who swam back ashore.

Tunisia and neighboring Libya have become key departure points for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, often risking dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

The exodus is fueled by Tunisia's stagnant economy, with only 0.4% of growth in 2023 and unemployment soaring.

The North African country has also been shaken by political tensions, after President Kais Saied orchestrated a sweeping power grab in July 2021.

Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing, with Italy — whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometers (90 miles) away — often their first port of call.

Since January 1, at least 103 makeshift boats have capsized and 341 bodies have been recovered off Tunisia's coast, the government says.

Last year, more than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off Tunisia, according to the FTDES rights group.

The International Organization for Migration has said more than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.