TUNIS, March 26 (NNN-XINHUA) — The death toll from the shipwreck of four immigrants boats off Tunisia’s southeastern coast on Wednesday rises to 9, the Tunisian National Guard said on Saturday.
“The bodies retrieved belong to sub-Saharan immigrants, including four adults, four children, and one baby,” Tunisian National Guard’s Spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said in a statement.
The search for survivors is still underway after the four boats sank off the coast of Sfax province on Wednesday. A total of 63 immigrants have been rescued, according to the statement, without elaborating on the number of the missing.
On Thursday, Tunisian coast guards found four bodies of the immigrants.
Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the most popular points of illegal immigration to Europe.
Although Tunisian authorities have adopted rigorous measures to tackle the problem, the number of illegal immigration attempts from Tunisia to Italy has been on the rise. — NNN-XINHUA
