13 dead, 27 missing after Sudanese migrant boat sinks off Tunisian coast

FILE - Migrants, mainly from sub Saharan Africa, are stopped by Tunisian Maritime National Guard at sea during an attempt to get to Italy, near the coast of Sfax, Tunisia, April 18, 2023. (AP)

At least 13 Sudanese migrants have died and 27 others are missing after their boat sank off Tunisia’s coast on Wednesday, a Tunisian official has said.

At least 13 Sudanese migrants have died and 27 others are missing after their boat sank off Tunisia’s coast on Wednesday, a Tunisian official has said.

The boat was carrying 42 people, all of them Sudanese, and two people were rescued, Judge Farid Ben Jha said.

Farid Ben Jha pointed out that an investigation was under way into the incident and that search operations were under way for those missing, he added.

It is the latest disaster to hit migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe. In 2023 the Tunisian coast guard recovered the bodies of nearly 1,000 migrants drowned off its coast, Tunisian officials said, more than in any other year.

Sudan plunged into a civil war about 10 months ago, forcing at least nine million people to flee their homes.