UNHCR said that 65 people drowned when the boat capsized.
16 people were pulled from the water and have been brought to the coast of Zarzis by the Tunisian Navy. One person has been immediately transferred to hospital for medical treatment, while the others await permission to disembark.
“One after one they let go, they departed under the water, one after one,” said the 30-year-old farmer, who lost his cousin and another relative.
According to the survivors, the group of 75 left Zuwara, around 120km west of Tripoli, yesterday evening. Their boat ran in to trouble soon afterwards when encountering strong waves.
“They were transferred into a smaller inflatable boat which was overloaded, and 10 minutes later it sank,” Mongi Slim, a Red Crescent official in the southern Tunisian town of Zarzis, told AFP. “The migrants indicated they spent eight hours in the cold water and to have been saved… by Tunisian fisherman.”
File Photo: Sub-saharan migrants receive medical attention by the Red Cross as they wait for their transfer at the port of Motril in Granada, Spain, 27 April 2019. A total of 42 migrants were rescued on a inflatable boat near Alboran Island in the Mediterranean Sea while they tried to reach Spanish peninsula. EPA-EFE/Miguel Paquet
One survivor, who wished to remain anonymous, told a local TV station that they had paid €1,000 for a place on the boat.
Survivors said the boat was heading to Italy and had on board only men, 51 from Bangladesh, as well as three Egyptians, several Moroccans, Chadians and other Africans.
“This is a tragic and terrible reminder of the risks still faced by those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean.”
This latest incident is the highest loss of life since some 117 died or went missing in mid-January. For some months, UNHCR has been raising the alarm at the lack of search and rescue capacity on the central Mediterranean.
164 people died on the route between Libya and Europe in the first four months of 2019, considerably less than in previous years, however, the journey is becoming increasingly fatal for those who risk it. In the first four months of this year, one person has died on the central Mediterranean for every three that have reached European shores after departing from Libya.
“Across the region, we need to strengthen the capacity of search and rescue operations,” said Cochetel. “If we don’t act now, we’re almost certain to see more tragic events in the coming weeks and months.”
