Death toll in Tunisia boat accident hits 82

Published: July 14, 2019 10:40:37 | Updated: November 01, 2019 11:15:09

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The number of bodies recovered by Tunisia after a ship packed with migrants sank off its coast last week has risen to 82, in one of the worst disasters in recent years, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Saturday.

The boat capsized after setting off for Europe from neighbouring Libya. Survivors told the Tunisian coast guard last week that it had been carrying 86 people.

Tunisian fishermen rescued four people but one later died in hospital, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said last week.

"After a week of searches, all the 82 bodies who were in the boat that sank last week were recovered," Mongi Slim, an official of the Tunisian Red Crescent, told Reuters.

Libya's west coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe, though numbers have dropped due to an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support Libya's coast guard.

65 migrants heading for Europe from Libya drowned in May when their boat capsized off Tunisia.