Tunis, September 9 (BNA) At least eight migrants were killed and 15 others were missing after a boat sank off Tunisia, Thursday, while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, Radio Monastir reported.
The Coast Guard rescued 14 migrants who were aboard the overcrowded boat that sank off the town of Cheba, Mahdia region, Reuters reported.
A security official said the boat set off from Sahel El Aabed, in the Sfax region, this week. He added that most of the migrants in the boat were Tunisians.
The Sfax coast has become a major springboard for people fleeing poverty in Africa and the Middle East for a chance at a better life in Europe.
In recent months, dozens of people have drowned off the Tunisian coast, with attempts to cross from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy increasing in frequency.
Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in recent years.
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