Another boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Tunisia. A human rights organization reported that at least nineteen people on board drowned. Five people were reportedly rescued.

At least five boats carrying migrants have sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia in less than a week, Reuters news agency reported. At least nine people have died. Dozens of people are still missing. The dangerous migration route by sea is currently widely used.

Little is known about the recent boating accident. The ship was on its way to Italy. A record number of migrants arrived on the island of Lampedusa yesterday. According to the authorities, this concerns more than 2,250 new registrations.

Smugglers and migrants are heading to Italy, especially from Tunisia’s coastal region of Sfax. Many accidents happen; Often the boats are barely seaworthy and overcrowded. The Italian Coast Guard regularly sails to rescue the crew members and the Intellectuals.

Recently, Tunisian President Said gave an inflammatory speech about immigrants. He described them as a great danger to the country. The recent increase in crossing attempts is partly related to this. Anyway, the African country is a popular stopover for immigrants who want to go to Europe.

A spokesperson for the Tunisian National Guard said that Tunisia had stopped about 80 refugee boats with 3,000 people on board in three days. Despite this, the number of new immigrants registered in Italy at the beginning of this year has more than tripled compared to the same period in 2021 and 2022.