Online desk At least 41 migrants have died after a boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia on its way to Europe across the Mediterranean. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed the information in a joint statement on Friday. At least 41 bodies, including a child, were recovered in the crash, the statement said. Tunisian coastguards also rescued three others alive.Rescue efforts are still underway in the incident. Preliminary reports indicate that the dead were all residents of sub-Saharan Africa.
Maurad Mechri, director of the Tunisian Public Safety Service, said the boat started its journey from the town of Sfax last Thursday night with immigrants. The Tunisian port city has recently become one of the leading destinations for migrants to Europe.Residents of Africa and the Middle East are regularly involved in accidents as they migrate to Europe to escape poverty and violence.
Last month, 39 migrants were killed when a boat capsized off the coast of Sfax. At least 60 people were killed in a similar accident in June last year. According to international organizations, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died in boat sinks on their way from Africa to Europe since 2014.
According to the IOM, at least 407 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean this year.
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