Maritime
Tunisian Coastguard Rescues Two Nigerians, As 17 Others Perish
No fewer than two Nigerian women have been rescued off the coast of Tunis as 17 other African migrants drowned in a shipwreck.
The rescued Nigerian women and the drowned migrants were reportedly crossing the Mediterranean sea from Libya to Italy last Thursday when the incident occurred.
This was contained in a statement by the Tunisian Red Crescent.
The Tunisian coastguard said it rescued the two Nigerian women in waters off the southern town of Zarzis.
The identities of the two Nigerian women and 17 immigrants were, however, not made public.
The statement said the unfortunate ship started sailing from Zawyia in Libya with 19 migrants on board before the sad incident occurred.
It noted that last month, at least 40 migrants drowned off Tunisia’s Port of Sfax South of Tunis.
This is as the United Nations said at least 300 people have perished in the Central Mediterranean this year while trying to get to Europe.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says no fewer than 23,500 people had crossed the sea to Europe this year, with most new arrivals landing in Italy and Spain from Tunisia and Algeria.
The agency also estimates that about 633 people have died or gone missing on the way this year.