Two people rescued and 13 bodies of irregular migrants that sank off Chebba coast recovered

Coastguard units in Mahdia rescued two people and recovered 13 bodies of irregular migrants on board a boat suspected of being made of iron that sank about 9 miles east of Chebba with 42 migrants of Sudanese nationality on board, spokesperson for the courts of Monastir and Mahdia Farid Ben Jha told TAP. The two rescued individuals said that the group had travelled from Jabniana in the governorate of Sfax, he pointed out, adding that Coast Guard units are currently combing the coastline of Chebba in search of more migrants. The public prosecution may categorise the operation as "human trafficking" based on the statements of the survivors, as the entire group holds a UNHCR-issued asylum card, which raises the suspicion of "forming a criminal association to cross sea borders illegally," he said. The investigating judge assigned a judicial mandate to the Mahdia Coastguard Guidance Squad to conduct investigations into the incident and determine its full circumstances, the same source specified. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse