70 drowned migrants found as Tunisia fights to contain surge

TUNIS — Coastguards have pulled the bodies of at least 70 drowned migrants from waters off Tunisia, where morgues are running out of space and authorities are struggling to contain a surge in crossings, officials said on Monday.

Another two boats sank near the coastal city of Sfax on Monday, judicial official Faouzi Masmoudi told Reuters. "The morgues in Sfax hospitals are suffering from severe pressure because of the high number of corpses of migrants. It's a threat to public health," Masmoudi said.

The bodies of at least 70 African migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe had been recovered since Friday, he said, higher than an earlier estimate of 31 from the coastguard.

At least 47 people had to be rescued from the boats that sank on Monday, he added.

The Tunisian National Guard said this month that more than 14,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were intercepted or rescued in the first three months this year, five times more than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, more than 20 people are feared drowned in three different shipwrecks within 24 hours, Italy's coastguard said on Monday, as good weather prompted fresh attempts at the perilous sea crossing from Africa.

Survivors from one boat that went down in Malta's search and rescue area told officials about 20 people on board were missing, a coastguard statement said.

Three people had been reported missing earlier after another shipwreck in Italian waters about 30 kilometers from the island of Lampedusa.

All three boats were intercepted by Italian authorities on Sunday night and Monday, when 1,200 people were rescued and brought to Lampedusa, the coastguard said.

"During last night and up until now, 35 boats have been rescued from the Tunisian route alone," it said, adding that around 20 more vessels remained at sea.

Chiara Cardoletti, the United Nations refugee agency representative for Italy, had confirmed the numbers missing at sea, offering condolences to their families.

On Twitter, she called for urgent action to "stabilize the situation in Tunisia, to reduce the reasons that drive so many people to risk their lives at sea".

Survivors of the shipwreck in which 20 people were feared drowned said six minors had been aboard their 7-meter-long boat, which was rescued by a fishing vessel, the Repubblica daily reported.

Agencies via Xinhua