Over 70 People Missing after Migrant Boat Sinks off Tunisia Coast

A boat bringing migrants to Europe illegally capsized off the coast of Sfax, leaving more than 70 migrants missing (central-eastern Tunisia).

According to Houcem Eddine Jebabli, a National Guard spokesperson, the Coast Guard and navy were able to save 24 of the 100 people on board.

The would-be migrants on board the stricken vessel were "of various African and Asian nationalities," he claimed.

"According to the first components of the inquiry, the inflatable boat left the shore of Zouara in Libya on the night of May 22 to 23 with around one hundred inpiduals on board," he said, adding that only one body had been retrieved.

The Libyan navy stated on Tuesday that four migrants attempting to reach Europe illegally died and three others went missing after their boat sank off the coast of Mellitah in western Libya.

Libya has been a favourite path for tens of thousands of migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, Arab countries, and South Asia due to the upheaval that followed Muammar Gaddafi's regime's fall in 2011.

They plan to get to Europe via the Italian shore, which is around 300 kilometres from Libya's.

Thousands of them are stranded in Libya, which is frequently chastised by non-governmental organisations for its mistreatment of migrants.

According to a report released on Monday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 6,340 migrants have been caught and returned to Libya since the beginning of the year (May 23).

According to the IOM, at least 129 inpiduals have perished attempting the trip, and 459 remain missing and considered dead.