Over 50 persons have reportedly lost their lives on Tuesday following a boat mishap. According to Tunisia’s Defence Ministry, the boat sank after leaving Libya port of Zuwara on Sunday heading to Europe. The Defence Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Zikri who revealed that 33 others were rescued noted that the survivors of the shipwreck were picked up after clinging to an oil platform off the southern coast of Tunisia. The boat was crammed with over 90 passengers. It was not immediately clear what caused the boat to sink, but vessels leaving the North African coast for Europe are often heavily overloaded makeshift crafts, departing at night even in rough weather to avoid detention from the coastguard. A spokesperson for the Mediterranean coordination office of the International Organization for Migration, Flavio Di Giacomo, said on Twitter that the 33 survivors were all from Bangladesh.
Tunisian rescuers were bringing the survivors to the port of Zarzis, some 100 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Zuwara.
"We don't know the nationality of the more than 50 who are missing," Di Giacomo said.
"Two days ago, about 680 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya by the Libyan,"
"Almost 9,000 have been intercepted at sea and returned to Libya in 2021 so far," he added.
Libya is a key gateway for Europe-bound migrants.
According to the IOM, over 500 people have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from the shores of North Africa to Italy and Malta since the beginning of 2021.
