PARIS, France– Authorities in Tunisia say the country’s maritime guard last Saturday, July 6, 2019 recovered 13 dead bodies of illegal African immigrants who drowned off the southeastern coast three days ago.
A Tunisian Red Crescent official also confirmed the information but stop short of saying which African nations the victims hailed from.
The bodies of the migrants were found off the Jorf coast in the province of Medenine and Katf coast near the city of Ben Guerdane close to the Libyan border, according to Mongi Slim, head of the Medenine branch of the Tunisian Red Crescent.
A statement from the Tunisian Red Crescent confirmed that a search is still underway for the remaining victims, Slim added.
Meanwhile, initial evidence suggests the bodies are those of a group of illegal African immigrants who sailed days ago from the Libyan coasts toward Italy.
Mustapha Abdel Kabir, head of Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, said last week that more than 80 illegal migrants from different African countries went missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean while sailing toward the Italian coast.
