Tunisia navy ‘rescues’ 487 migrants
Tunisian authorities said yesterday they had rescued almost 500 migrants whose boat ran into trouble off the North African country's coast during a bid to reach Europe.
"A sea patrol supported by units from the navy and the National Guard at dawn yesterday rescued 487 clandestine migrants of various Arab, Asian and African nationalities," the defence ministry said. They included 93 children and 13 women.
The vessel had set off from neighbouring Libya and was heading towards Europe when it was intercepted off the Tunisian city of Sfax, it said. The ministry published photos of a vessel carrying dozens of people, with many others swimming next to it.
Libya saw a surge in departures as it plunged into lawlessness after a 2011 Nato-backed revolt.
Around half of those intercepted yesterday were Egyptians or Bangladeshis, along with dozens of Syrians and Moroccans and smaller numbers of Eritreans and Sudanese, the ministry said. The interception was the latest in a string of similar operations to thwart sea crossings or to rescue migrants in unseaworthy boats.
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