Missing migrants
June 2, 2011
More than 200 people are missing and feared drowned off the Tunisian coast after they tried to transfer from their disabled boat to another vessel in bad weather.
The refugees were fleeing the violence in Libya when their vessel ran aground and capsized near Tunisia's Kerkennah islands in the Mediterranean on Wednesday.
Army and coast guard officials were able to rescue 570 people from the overcrowded vessel, but between 200 and 270 were still missing, the TAP news agency said.
Panic takes hold
Authorities reported at least two people had died and that seven injured had been brought to hospital. They attributed the large number of missing to a stampede to get off the ship and board inflatable rafts during the storm.
Italy has faced a massive influx of refugees since unrest ousted the Tunisian president in January and violence broke out in neighboring Libya weeks later.
The UN estimates some 1,200 people have died or gone missing while attempting to flee war-torn Libya by sea.
On Wednesday, Malta's army rescued a boat carrying 76 refugees fleeing the besieged city of Misrata. In April, at least 150 Somali and Eritrean refugees died when their boat sank after leaving Libya.
Author: Sarah Harman (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler