Fifteen Tunisian migrants are missing after a boat that was secretly transporting them towards European shores sank in the Mediterranean Sea, the Coast Guard said on Wednesday.
The boat, which is located on the east coast of Tunisia, had a total of 19 Tunisian migrants on board, the National Guard, the coast guard’s supervisory authority, said in a press release.
Four were rescued by a fisherman after his sinking on Monday night, while the other 15 are said to be missing.
The search for the missing migrants continued Wednesday morning, according to the same source.
Tunisia, whose coast is sometimes less than 150 km from the Italian island of Lampedusa, has seen very regular attempts by migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, to travel to Italy.
Last week, 32 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were killed trying to make the dangerous sea crossing.
The departure of African migrants from Tunisia intensified after a speech by Tunisian President Kais Saied on February 21, in which he criticized illegal immigration and portrayed it as a demographic threat to his country.
Tunisia is in a serious economic and political crisis, which is forcing many Tunisians to risk their lives and illegally reach Europe by sea.