Three new migrants' bodies were recovered in the night from Thursday to Friday after the sinking of their boat off the coast of Tunisia, raising the death toll to 55 dead, said an official of the Civil Protection.
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These are 28 women, 25 men and 2 children, added Mourad Mechri, regional director of civil protection in Sfax, in central-eastern Tunisia. Thirty bodies were buried Thursday evening in a cemetery near Sfax, said for his part the regional director of Health, Ali Ayadi. Research carried out by the army, the coastguards and the Civil Protection continues off this city, according to the same source.
These migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were on board a clandestine boat that left Sfax for Italy during the night of June 4 to 5, according to testimonies collected by the authorities.
As of Tuesday, fishermen had alerted the authorities after discovering the bodies floating off the Kerkennah Islands, near Sfax. The captain of the boat, a 48-year-old Tunisian from Sfax, was among the victims and the court found a " sinking ".
This new tragedy in the Mediterranean came after a significant increase since January in departures from Tunisia to Europe, especially people from West Africa, according to the UN.
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