A new serious maritime drama has unfolded off the coast of North Africa after a vessel carrying illegal migrants to Europe suffered a shipwreck. At least 13 Tunisian citizens have disappeared in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
The incident was confirmed on Saturday morning to a news agency Reuters (reuters.com/world/africa/least-13-tunisians-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-tunisia-group-says-2026-08-22/) by Mostafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights. According to him, the boat set sail in the early hours of Thursday towards Italy.
So far, local fishermen and rescue boats have managed to pull two survivors from the water. One of them said that the survivors spent hours at sea after the vessel capsized, and the second rescued person is in critical condition. The Central Mediterranean route remains one of the most dangerous in the world. Although increased controls and European funding for the Tunisian coast guard have reduced the overall number of departures in the past two years, poverty and regional conflicts continue to push hundreds of people onto dangerous sea crossings.