23 African migrants drown in shipwreck off Tunisia

Tunis: At least 23 migrants from Africa drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, and 70 were rescued, the Tunisian Red Crescent humanitarian organisation said on Tuesday.

“(The Tunisian) navy rescued 70 migrants, as 23 others drowned in a boat carrying more than 90 migrants that set off from Libya towards Europe,” Red Crescent official Mongi Slim said.

The navy also rescued 39 other migrants who were on another boat that sank off the coast of Sfax.