Migrants aboard a small iron boat are awaiting rescue by the Geo Barents migrant rescue ship, operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), in international waters between Tunisia and Lampedusa, in the central Mediterranean Sea. Reuters File Photo
Tunisia's coastguard has retrieved the bodies of 16 migrants from the waters near the towns of Maloulech, Salakta, and Chebba, according to the national guard on Monday. This marks the latest migrant boat tragedy in the Mediterranean.
"The bodies were discovered over the weekend and on Monday... The victims remain unidentified due to the advanced state of decomposition," stated Houssem Eddine Jebabli, a senior official in the national guard, in an interview with Reuters.
Last month, at least 15 Tunisians, including three infants, perished, and 10 others went missing after their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast near Djerba as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Additionally, the bodies of 13 sub-Saharan African migrants were found in the same region last month.
Tunisia is currently dealing with an unprecedented migration crisis and has supplanted Libya as the primary departure point for both Tunisians and other Africans seeking a better life in Europe.
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