At least 10 people still missing and 29 rescued in latest boat disaster in the Mediterranean.At least 12 people have been found dead and 10 are still missing after a boat heading to Europe capsized off the coast of Tunisia’s southeastern island of Djerba, according to officials.
Judicial official Fethi Baccouche told the AFP news agency on Monday that three children were among the dead.
The Medenine court spokesman also said 29 people had been rescued after the early morning sinking, the cause of which remained unknown.
The Tunisian National Guard said it was alerted to the incident by four migrants who swam back ashore.
Human Rights Observatory, a local rights group, said all the people on board were Tunisians bar two Moroccans, according to the Reuters news agency.
Tunisia and Libya have become key departure points for refugees and migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, who often risk dangerous sea journeys across the Mediterranean to seek a better life in Europe.
More than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off Tunisia, according to the rights group Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
The exodus is prompted by Tunisia’s stagnant economy, with only 0.4 percent growth in 2023 and unemployment soaring. The country has also been shaken by political tensions after President Kais Saied, democratically elected in 2019, orchestrated a power grab in July 2021.
Overall, the central Medit …