Five migrants from sub-Saharan Africa drowned and 28 missing after a boat capsized off Tunisia on Wednesday.
“Five migrants’ bodies were recovered and five other migrants were rescued, but 28 are still missing,” Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for social and economic rights disclosed.
The boat had sunk “because it was overloaded” with 38 people, mostly from the Ivory Coast, Ben Amor explained.
The boat set off from the coastal region of Sfax towards the Italian island of Lampedusa, a popular gateway for those escaping war and persecution across Africa to try to reach safety in Europe.
The sinking is the latest of such tragedy on the central Mediterranean, which is known as the world’s deadliest migration route.
