Tunisia coastguard recovers bodies of 16 migrants

A senior official in the National Guard, Houssem Eddine Jebabli, told Reuters on Monday that this was the latest migrant boat disaster in the Mediterranean.

“The bodies were found at the weekend and on Monday. The victims have not been identified because the bodies had decomposed.’’

In October, at least 15 Tunisian people died, including three infants and 10 others were missing after their boat sank off the Tunisian coast at Djerba as they sought to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

The bodies of 13 sub-Saharan African migrants were also recovered in the same area in October.

Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as the major departure point for both Tunisians and people from elsewhere in Africa seeking a better life in Europe.

Reuters/NAN