At least 13 Tunisians missing after migrant boat capsizes off Tunisia en route to Italy

At least 13 Tunisians are missing after a migrant boat capsized off the Tunisian coast on Thursday while trying to reach Italy, according to the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights.

Mostafa Abdelkebir, the group's head, said two people were rescued from the vessel after it overturned shortly after departure. One of the survivors told fishermen aboard a local boat that the group had spent hours adrift after the craft capsized. The second survivor was in critical condition, Abdelkebir said.

The latest incident is a reminder of the risks along the central Mediterranean, still one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. Tunisia was long a major launchpad for migrants from across Africa hoping to reach Europe, but departures from its shores have dropped sharply over the past two years after a sustained crackdown and tighter maritime controls backed by the European Union.

Those controls have reduced the number of boats leaving but have not removed the dangers for those who still attempt the crossing. Many of the vessels are overcrowded and unseaworthy, and rescue efforts are often slow, leaving survivors to wait for hours in the water. Rights groups argue that the broader strategy of externalizing border control has made the situation more dangerous, not less.

In July, 46 organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued a joint statement condemning the European Union's 2023 deal with Tunisia, which provides funding for the country to carry out border-control operations. The groups said the arrangement has led to reckless and violent interceptions at sea, collective and summary expulsions, and has fueled and normalized serious human rights violations. They called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.

The full scale of the loss in the Mediterranean remains difficult to measure. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 35,000 people have gone missing in the region since 2014. The Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights has separately estimated that about 10,000 Tunisians have disappeared at sea attempting to reach Europe since 2011.