Tunisia migrant boat sinking: 11 bodies recovered

Tunisia's national guard said it recovered 11 bodies from the sea after a boat carrying migrants sank off the country's southeastern coast, with three people still missing.

The boat was carrying 15 people when it sank about 14 nautical miles off Zarzis on Friday night, the national guard said. One person was rescued.

The national guard said search teams recovered three bodies on Saturday and eight more on Sunday. Searches for the remaining missing passengers were continuing.

Residents in Ben Guerdane, a city near the Libyan border where 14 of the migrants were from, protested on Saturday night by blocking roads and setting tyres on fire over the shipwreck.

Tunisia is a key departure point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The International Organization for Migration says the central Mediterranean is the world's deadliest migration route and that at least 914 migrants have died or gone missing along it this year.

Tunisia signed a 255-million-euro deal with the European Union in 2023, with nearly half earmarked for tackling irregular migration and bolstering Tunisia's capacity to prevent boats leaving its shore.