Migrants in the Mediterranean: Over 80 drown as boat sinks off Tunisian coast

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More than 80 people drowned after a migrant boat sank off Tunisia Wednesday night. Only four were rescued after the vessel capsized while crossing the Mediterranean. The survivors told coastguards they had set out from Libya. CGTN's Adnen Chaouachi has the story.

At least 82 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa have drowned while trying to reach the Italian Island of Lampedusa from Libya. Their boat capsized off the coast of Zarzis in Tunisia. Only 4 people have survived the new tragedy in the Mediterranean basin.

SULAIMAN KULIBALI UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT, MALI "We left the Libyan coast at midnight. We faced trouble at 5:00 am and the boat sank off at 12:00 pm. Many people died especially from Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Guinea, Burina Faso. They all disappeared in the sea."

The survivor recounts the horrible scene of women, children and young people drowning.

There were so many victims that the sea was covered with bodies of migrants.

SULAIMAN KULIBALI UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT, MALI "Young people and 4 women died including a pregnant one. One woman drowned with her baby in her hands. We could not do anything to save them. We were 4 survivors. We left the boat and we were rescued by Tunisian sailors who took us to the hospital."

The survivors were sheltered by the regional office of the Red Crescent and the civil society. Authorities said that the rights of migrants and refugees will be respected on Tunisian soil.

AHLEM HAMMAMI DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN MIGRATION TUNISIAN SOCIAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY "Tunisia's national migration strategy has many components. A whole section is dedicated to undocumented migrants. Tunisia will defend their rights and protect them. They can either stay and work here if they arrived legally or leave to their countries of origin."

Sixty-four undocumented migrants were rescued Monday in territorial waters and taken to the port of Sfax after leaving a Libyan port. These migrants come from Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea.

ADNEN CHAOUACHI TUNIS, TUNISIA "Tunisian Premier Youssef Chahed declared during a meeting held in Zarziss that the refugees and migrants issue is not the responsibility of the Tunisian Republic alone. Chahed called on all African and European countries to shoulder the responsibility to spare the country a difficult and unbearable situation. ADNEN CHAOUACHI, CGTN, TUNIS."