75 migrants missing off Tunisia's coast

The International Organization for Migration says 75 people were unaccounted for and 30 others were rescued after a migrant boat sank off Sfax in southern Tunisia.

TUNIS - A boat carrying migrants from Libya capsized off Tunisia's coast, prompting an ongoing rescue operation Wednesday after one body was recovered and dozens of people were reported missing.

The International Organization for Migration said that 75 people were unaccounted for and 30 others were rescued after the boat sank off Sfax in southern Tunisia.

The boat reportedly departed from Zuwara in north Libya.

The central Mediterranean, which connects Libya and the Maghreb countries to Italy or Malta, is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the IOM. The UN agency estimates that more than 1,500 people died or went missing in the area in 2021 and more than 500 so far in 2022.