81 missing as boat capsizes off Tunisian coast

ZARZIS, Tunis

At least 81 migrants have gone missing as their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast, a relief official said on Thursday.

"The Tunisian coastguard on Wednesday rescued five irregular migrants after their boat, which had 86 people on board capsized,” Al-Monji Salim, a Tunisian Red Crescent official in Medenine province, told Anadolu Agency.

One of the rescued died while receiving treatment. Another two are admitted in a public hospital in Medinine city, the provincial capital.

Salim asserted that the boat was carrying 86 people, including seven women.

Tunisia -- a North African country bordering the Mediterranean Sea -- is located opposite Italy. Therefore, it is a frequent destination of irregular migrants, who risk their lives to reach Europe in pursuit of finding work.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat