World
10:50, 04-Jun-2018
At least 50 migrants dead after boat sinks off Tunisian coast
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At least 50 migrants were killed when their boat, with about 180 people on board, sank off Tunisia's coast. Sixty-eight others were rescued by the coast guard, officials said on Sunday.
The boat went down near the southern island of Kerkenna, a tourist spot, in the night on Sunday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The victims were Tunisians and from other nationalities, it said, without giving details.
One survivor said the captain had abandoned the boat after it started sinking to escape arrest by the coast guard.
The rescue operation was suspended late on Sunday but will resume on Monday morning, officials said.
Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as Libya's coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened control.
Source(s): Reuters