Boat fire on Tunisian coast, 9 including Bangladeshis killed

 Boat fire on Tunisian coast, 9 including Bangladeshis killed

A fire broke out on a boat carrying 52 migrants en route to Europe from the Libyan coast. 9 people died in it. Most of the dead are Bangladeshis, said the Embassy of Bangladesh in Libya. The Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli gave this information in a Facebook post on Saturday (February 17) local time.

According to the embassy, ​​on February 15, a group of 52 migrants left the Libyan coast for Europe by sea. The boat carrying them later caught fire off the Tunisian coast. Later, the Tunisian Navy recovered the bodies of 9 migrants and 43 alive from the boat. Among the migrants rescued alive are 26 Bangladeshi nationals. One of them is in critical condition. The embassy confirmed that most of those who died in the accident were Bangladeshi citizens.

The embassy's Facebook post also informed that the embassy is in constant contact with the relevant Tunisian authorities, the Red Crescent Society and the IOM to ensure the necessary cooperation and medical care for the rescued Bangladeshi citizens. Efforts are also underway to send a team from the embassy to Tunisia as soon as possible to meet with the local authorities, ensure their welfare and collect detailed information on the dead Bangladeshis.

Bangladeshi embassy in Tripoli advises not to risk crossing the sea route to Europe, says several European countries have recently taken a tougher stance on illegal immigration and the navies of Libya and Tunisia have stepped up their surveillance. As a result, crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe is very dangerous and risky. In this situation, the embassy is requesting everyone not to risk their lives by being cheated by brokers and smugglers.