Two die as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia
(Reuters) – A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday drowning at least two people with nine rescued and another 14 missing, a coastguard official said.
The boat sank six miles (10km) from the coastline near the city of Sfax, Houssem Jebabli told Reuters, adding that the rescue operation continued.
There have been two migrant shipping disasters off the Tunisian coast this year, with 86 African migrants drowned after their boat capsized having set off for Europe from Libya in July.
Another boat taking migrants to Europe from Libya capsized in June, drowning at least 65 people.
All the migrants travelling on the boat on Tuesday were Tunisians, Jebabli said.
Reporting by Tarek Amara, editing by Ed Osmond
