Bangladeshis rescued, 70 missing in Tunisia migrant boat capsize

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Published: May 26, 2022, 04:29 PM

Bangladeshis rescued, 70 missing in Tunisia migrant boat capsize

Banngladeshis were among those rescued on Wednesday after a migrant boat carrying dozens of people headed for Europe from Libya capsized off neighbouring Tunisia. 

However, it couldn't be confirmed how many Bangladeshis were on board and how many are rescued or went missing. 

The International Organization for Migration said 30 people were rescued and 75 people were unaccounted for after the boat sank off the city of Sfax in southern Tunisia. One body has been recovered, authorities said.

Mourad Turki, a Sfax courts spokesperson, told The Associated Press that the people rescued were between the ages of 18 and 40. Other than Bangladeshis, the others rescued were from Egypt, Morocco and Cameroon.

The boat, which was carrying around 100 people when it put to sea from Zawara in Libya, capsized off the Tunisian port of Sfax, with coastguard and navy units able to pull 24 people out of the water.

Tunisian officials said the victims were "of various African andAsian nationalities", he added.

The boat reportedly departed from Zuwara in north Libya on Sunday night.

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