Multiple deaths as African refugees boat sinks off Tunisia

At least nine African irregular refugees have died after their boat sank off Tunisia as they were trying to reach Italy.

The boat, carrying more than 50 passengers of various nationalities, had "sustained damage caused by water getting in", the National Guard said in a statement on Thursday.

The coast guard rescued another 44 people from the same boat off the southern coastal town of Zarzis, a national guard official Houssem Eddine Jebabli said.

One of the rescued refugees was in a critical condition, Jebabli said.

The provincial prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the death, spokesperson Lassad Horr said.

"It's very likely that they died after bing overwhelmed by the fuel fumes at the bottom of the boat," Horr said.

The passengers, all men, came from countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan and Syria, he added.

75 percent increase

The International Organization for Migration said 2,498 people died or went missing while trying to cross the central Mediterranean last year, a 75 percent increase on 2022.

More than 1,300 irregular refugees died at sea or went missing trying to reach Europe from Tunisia last year, a Tunisian rights group said on Tuesday.

Tunisia has replaced Libya as North Africa's main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict elsewhere in Africa and across the Middle East in the hope of a better life in Europe.