TUNIS, August 24, 2026: Twelve people were confirmed dead and two remained missing after a boat carrying 15 Tunisian migrants sank off the southeastern coast of Tunisia, according to the latest incident-specific figures reported by the Tunisian National Guard.
The vessel departed early on Thursday, August 20, from a coastal area between Zarzis and Ben Guerdane. It was believed to be heading towards Italy when it sank about 14 nautical miles, or 26 kilometres, off Zarzis.
Authorities said 14 of the passengers were from Ben Guerdane and one was from Zarzis. No other nationalities were officially reported.
A commercial vessel rescued the only known survivor on Saturday. The person had reportedly spent about 48 hours at sea wearing a life jacket. Tunisian authorities then deployed coastguard vessels and helicopters to search the surrounding waters.
The National Guard said search teams recovered three bodies on Saturday and nine more on Sunday, taking the incident-specific death toll to 12. Coastguard, military and civil protection personnel continued searching for the two people still unaccounted for. Tunis Afrique Presse earlier reported the operation using information from National Guard spokesperson Houssem Eddine Jbabli.
On Monday, a hospital in Ben Guerdane reported receiving at least 19 bodies recovered from the sea during the previous two days. However, authorities had not established that all of those bodies came from this vessel. Genetic testing was underway to identify them and determine which victims were connected to the sinking, according to the latest Reuters report. The hospital figure should therefore not be treated as a revised death toll for this incident.
The central Mediterranean remains one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes. It connects North African departure points, including Tunisia and Libya, with Italy and Malta. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded more than 35,000 people dead or missing across Mediterranean migration routes since 2014, although the actual toll is believed to be higher.
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Reader questions
Frequently asked questions
How many people died in the migrant boat sinking off Tunisia?
Authorities confirmed 12 deaths related to this specific incident off Zarzis, with two people still missing from the boat of 15 passengers.
Where did the boat sink?
The vessel sank approximately 14 nautical miles (26 kilometres) off the southeastern coast of Tunisia, near Zarzis.
Were there any survivors from the incident?
Yes. A commercial vessel rescued one survivor on Saturday after the person had reportedly spent about 48 hours at sea wearing a life jacket.
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