At least two children died in the crash of a boat with migrants off the coast of Tunisia

A migrant child cries as he is rescued by the Tunisian National Guard on Saturday. Credit: GETTY IMAGES

At least two Tunisians, including a child, were killed by the Coast Guard when their boat sank shortly after it left the country on Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

< p>Tunisia is the main gateway for migrants trying to make the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean in often wobbly boats in the hope of being rescued. a better life.

A ship carrying 20 Tunisians sank at 2 am when it was less than 400 feet from the shore in Gabes, the North African country's coast guard said.

«Two bodies were found, one of a 20-year-old man and another an infant,” the statement said.

Five passengers are missing, the Coast Guard said, adding that search operations are ongoing and 13 others have been rescued, including the baby’s parents.

Authorities in the city of Gabes have launched an investigation to «determine the circumstances of this tragedy,» the agency added.

Migrants leave the coast of Tunisia every month. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Eyewitnesses said that the vessel had just left Gabes when those on board saw a trawler, which they mistook for a Coast Guard vessel.

They tried to turn around, the fishermen told reporters, but the boat capsized , and the child was stuck in the nets on the deck, eyewitnesses said.

More than 1,800 people have died this year as a result of shipwrecks on the Central Mediterranean migration route. the world's deadliest route — more than double that of last year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

On Monday, court officials reported the deaths of 11 migrants in a shipwreck off the coast of Sfax, more dozens have gone missing. .

A port city in eastern Tunisia, about 80 miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa, has become a key destination for migrants.

Five passengers on board are missing. Credit: GETTY IMAGES

The Tunisian Coast Guard says they intercepted 34,290 migrants in the six months to June 20, most from sub-Saharan Africa, up from 9,217 during the same period in 2022.

Many have also fled after hundreds of migrants were arrested or driven into the desert after a Tunisian was fatally wounded during a fight with migrants in Sfax on July 3.

In July, the European Union signed an agreement with Tunisia that provides direct European assistance of around £90 million to prevent ships carrying migrants from leaving and combat smugglers.