Tunisia’s Ben Guerdane reels from violent protests after boat carrying 15 individuals sinks, killing at the very least 12.
Published On 25 Aug 2026
Volunteers in Tunisia have continued the seek for two individuals nonetheless lacking after a boat carrying 15 migrants sank off the nation’s southeastern coast, as town of Ben Guerdane reeled from violent protests sparked by the tragedy.
Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, confirmed volunteers in town of Zarzis heading out to sea on fishing boats on Monday to seek for the lacking.
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The migrant boat, believed to be headed in direction of Italy, sank late on Friday after setting off from a location between Zarzis and Ben Guerdane with 15 largely younger individuals on board. It sank about 14 nautical miles (26km) off the coast of Zarzis.
Only one individual survived, having drifted at sea for about 48 hours earlier than being rescued by a business vessel, in accordance with Tunisian media.
The our bodies of 12 individuals have been recovered by Sunday, the Tunisian National Guard stated.
The deaths have sparked a wave of grief and anger, triggering violent protests in Ben Guerdane on Sunday evening. According to the Tunisian National Guard, some 14 individuals on the boat have been from Ben Guerdane, and one was from Zarzis.
The protesters burned tyres and blocked roads, whereas police responded by firing tear fuel to disperse the crowds. The protesters demanded higher residing circumstances and financial growth, saying a scarcity of alternatives and years of marginalisation are pushing younger individuals to undertake harmful sea crossings to Europe in search of a greater life.
Mostafa Abdelkebir, the pinnacle of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, stated these on board included seven members of the identical household. He advised the Reuters information company on Monday {that a} hospital in Ben Guerdane has obtained at the very least 19 our bodies of migrants recovered from the ocean over the previous two days.
It was not clear if all of the our bodies have been from the boat that sank. Abdelkebir advised Reuters that genetic testing was being carried out to establish the our bodies and decide what number of had been on board the boat.
Some in Tunisia have referred to as for a nationwide day of mourning over the deaths.
Imad Oulad Jibril, a lawmaker, on Sunday referred to as it “the tragedy of a nation that sees its youth fleeing the hardships of the land only to be swallowed by the sea”.
The opposition Democratic Bloc social gathering tied the sinking to Tunisia’s financial strains, saying: “When crossing the sea becomes easier than living in Tunisia, we must ask: Who is at fault?”
Tunisia has seen comparable tragedies in latest years, together with the Kerkennah catastrophe, in which greater than 100 individuals died or went lacking in 2018 after the sinking of a migrant boat. The incident led to the dismissal of the then-interior minister. In Zarzis in 2022, at the very least 18 individuals died after one other migrant boat sank, sparking weeks of protests.
Tunisia’s southeastern coast lies simply 145 km (90 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The central Mediterranean is taken into account the deadliest migration route in the world, in accordance with the International Organization for Migration, which says at the very least 821 migrants have died or gone lacking on the route this 12 months – greater than double the toll over the identical interval final 12 months.
Across the Mediterranean as an entire, at the very least 1,065 individuals have died or gone lacking, in accordance with the group.