At least 10 people were reported missing and one died after a boat en route to Italy sank off the coast of Tunisia on Sunday, according to a judicial official.
Faouzi Masmoudi, a judge in the nearby city of Sfax, said that Tunisia's coastguard saved 11 people from the boat after it capsized off the coast of the town of Zarzis in the country's southeast region.
Local media reported that as Tunisia deals with an unexpected migration crisis, many people trying to cross the Mediterranean now use Sfax and its surrounding towns as a major entry point into Europe, replacing Libya as the main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East.
According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, 608 people are now confirmed dead or unaccounted for after their boats capsized off the coast of Tunisia. The rights organisation also stated that approximately 33,000 people had attempted to board boats but were unsuccessful.
Tunisians have previously demonstrated against the presence of refugees in Sfax in recent weeks.
Additionally, three sub-Saharan Africans were reportedly detained after a Tunisian man was fatally stabbed on Tuesday during violent altercations in the city, according to judicial officials.
Earlier this week, hundreds of Black Africans were relocated by Tunisian security forces from Sfax to the Libyan border region, according to rights organisations.
According to Lauren Seibert, a researcher on migrant and refugee rights at Human Rights Watch, security forces assaulted the evictees while also destroying their phones, food, and belongings.
The EU has committed financial assistance to aid Tunisia in addressing its national migration crisis.
Last month, President Kais Saied stated that Tunisia "refuses to be a place of transit or settlement for migrants" and that it would not be responsible for halting unauthorised immigration to Europe.
In remarks widely criticised as racist, Saied connected residents of the country from sub-Saharan Africa to crime in February.
"There has been a criminal plan since the beginning of the century to change the demographic structure of Tunisia, and there are parties that received large sums of money after 2011 for the settlement of illegal immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
The unfortunate incident comes weeks after another ill-fated boat capsized in the middle of the Mediterranean while carrying around 400 to 750 migrants from Libya to Italy and ended up killing more than 75 people.
Swift informed her 284 million Instagram followers that she planned to vote for Harris
Trump's campaign had earlier said he was safe following gunshots in his vicinity
Horrific explosion left as many as 40 wounded, half of whom suffer third-degree burns, says govt
Floods and landslides kill almost 300 people in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand in wake of Typhoon Yagi
US vice president appealed to moderate voters as she emphasised her aim to preserve Americans' gun rights
Taj is poised to become first Pakistani-American to serve as representative in California State Assembly if he succeeds
