TUNIS/ATHENS: The Tunisian national guard said on Sunday 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, only one of whom was rescued after it sank some 14 nautical miles off the shore of Zarzis on Friday night.

“Search operations resulted in the recovery of three bodies yesterday and eight bodies today, bringing the total to 11,” the national guard said in a statement.

Searches for the three remaining missing passengers were ongoing, it added.

Over 150 rescued off Greece’s Crete in recent days

On Saturday night, residents in Ben Guerdane — the marginalised city near the Libyan border where 14 of the migrants were from — staged protests, blocking roads and setting tires on fire over the shipwreck.

Tunisia, whose coast is some 145 kilometres (90 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa, is a key departure point for migrants seeking to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in search of better lives in Europe.

The central Mediterranean crossing is the deadliest migration route in the world, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The IOM said earlier this month that the number of migrant deaths on the central Mediterranean route had more than doubled in the first four months of 2026 compared to the same period last year.

At least 914 migrants have died or gone missing along the route this year, according to the IOM.

In 2023, Tunisia signed a 255-million-euro ($290 million) deal with the European Union, nearly half of which was earmarked for tackling irregular migration.

The deal, strongly supported by Italy’s hard-right government, aimed to bolster Tunisia’s capacity to prevent boats leaving its shore.

Crete rescue

Greek authorities have coordinated the rescue of more than 150 migrants in the past three days off the island of Crete, the Athens News Agency (ANA) reported on Sunday.

On Friday alone, 131 were rescued in two operations carried out by vessels operated by Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, ANA said. On Saturday, a passing oil tanker was directed to save 33 migrants from a small boat.

The migrants were to be taken to centres set up on the islands of Lesbos and Samos, and from there possibly on to other centres on the Greek mainland, the country’s migration ministry said.

Crete, and the nearby tiny island of Gavdos, lie on a maritime path used by migrants on boats setting off from Libya in bids to reach Europe. The inflow has stoked tensions among some Greek residents.

“Serious incidents” broke out Saturday night in a temporary centre for asylum-seekers in Sintiki, in northern Greece, state television reported on Sunday, adding that police reinforcements were sent there.

The Greek government said 14 people were arrested and five foreigners were hurt when a group of people threw stones at police. It said that the group cut the wire fence around the centre and 41 people “escaped” but 17 were later arrested.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026