Migrant boat capsizes off Tunisia: 2 dead, 12 missing

A migrant boat capsized off the southern coast of Tunisia on Saturday, leaving at least two people dead and 12 others missing, according to the country's national guard.

One survivor was rescued from the water. Authorities recovered two bodies and transferred them to a hospital on the nearby island of Djerba.

A national guard spokesperson told national radio that roughly 15 people were believed to have been aboard the vessel when it departed between the cities of Zarzis and Ben Guerdane.

A helicopter and coast guard boats were dispatched to the area to search for additional survivors, a photojournalist at the scene reported.

The migrants were believed to be heading toward Italy. Zarzis has long served as a departure point for Tunisians and others from across Africa attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Europe.

The region has seen similar tragedies before. In 2022, a boat carrying 18 people went missing from the same area, sparking weeks of protests as families accused authorities of inadequate search efforts and of burying recovered bodies without proper identification.

Migrant departures from Tunisia have dropped sharply since the European Union and Tunisia signed a broad agreement in 2023. That deal included EU funding and technical support for Tunisian border control and coast guard training to curb irregular migration and deter human traffickers. The EU allocated 105 million euros ($121 million) in migration-related support to Tunisia in 2023 alone.

Despite the overall decline, dangerous crossings from Tunisia's southern coast continue, where families in Zarzis have for years searched for relatives lost at sea.