Tunisia navy rescues 487 migrants from overloaded boat

TUNIS: The Tunisian navy rescued 487 migrants on Friday from an overloaded boat that ran into difficulty in rough seas in the Mediterranean as they tried to reach Europe.

The vessel was carrying migrants from Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Pakistan, Ethiopia and the Palestinian territories. The navy said they included 13 woman and 93 children.

In recent months, several drowning incidents have occurred off Tunisia, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

The migrants were taken to the port of El Kitf in Ben Guerdane.