More than 70 people are missing after their boat sank off the coast of Tunisia. The Tunisian coastguard reported on Wednesday that the migrants had left Libya.

 

24 people were pulled from the water by rescuers. So far, one body has recovered.

The Coast Guard says about 100 people were on board when the boat capsized. They were of different African and Asian nationalities and were said to have boarded an inflatable boat on Sunday evening.

Many migrants try to get into Italy from Libya and Tunisia, a journey of several hundred kilometres. More people die there whose boat sinks. In 2021, 1924 migrants died in the Mediterranean.

Tunisian authorities say they arrested more than 20,000 migrants off the coast last year. At least 15,000 people reached Italy via that route in the same year.