Sharjah 24 – AFP: Five sub-Saharan African migrants, all women, and a toddler have been found dead off the coast of Tunisia's eastern city of Monastir, a judicial official said on Thursday.
Farid Ben Jha, spokesman for the Monastir public prosecutor's office, said the bodies were found on Wednesday, adding analysis showed they had drowned about a week earlier.
The child was between two and three years old, he said.
The spokesman said an investigation was opened to determine whether they had died in a "migration or human trafficking operation".
Tunisia as well as neighbouring Libya have become key departure points for migrants, often from other countries, who risk perilous Mediterranean sea journeys in the hopes of reaching better lives in Europe.
Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing, with Italy -- whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Tunisia -- their first port of call.
Since January 1, at least 103 makeshift boats have capsized and 341 bodies, including of 336 foreigners, have been recovered off Tunisia's coast, according to the interior ministry.
More than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off the North African country, according to the Tunisian FTDES rights group.
The International Organization for Migration has said more than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.
For an optimal experience, please
