United Nations, May 14 (RHC)-- The United Nations reports at least 65 people drowned when a boat carrying migrants across the Mediterranean sank over the weekend. The migrants came from a range of countries including Bangladesh, Libya, Morocco and several sub-Saharan African nations.
One of the survivors of the shipwreck, Egyptian Mandour Mohamed, told reporters: “There were 75 of us. We sailed a little bit then, because of how many people were on the boat, the [boat] started filling up with water. It then sunk and capsized. This was 12 o’clock at midnight. We kept floating in the water until 8 o’clock in the morning. A small Tunisian boat then came to our rescue. They came and took us, along with the Tunisian army."
Although the number of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean has gone down since its peak in 2015, the U.N. warns the journey is increasingly fatal for those who undertake it. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 2,300 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year.