Three migrant boats have sunk in the sea near Tunis, resulting in the death of five people while many others are still missing.

According to the Associated Press news agency, a Tunisian coast guard says that the aid team found the bodies of five people, including a child. He said that the sinking of the boats happened near the city of Aspheks.

Asfex prosecutor Fawzi Masudi says the three boats bound for Italy from Africa were overcrowded.

He said that the pieces of sinking boats have also been found by the rescue teams.

According to him, ‘aid workers have rescued 73 people while around 47 people are still missing.’

He also said that six children are also among the missing persons.

About the boats he said that they were mostly made of iron.

There have been previous incidents of boat capsizing in the same area as most people from Tunisia try to cross this route to Italy.

Fawzi Masudi also said that people who lost their lives in such incidents are buried in the cemetery of Afex and since January this year, 500 people have been buried there compared to the previous months. There is too much.

In 2022, 355 people were buried there, compared to 226 in 2021.

He also said that most of the migrants belonged to African countries and they made this dangerous journey through Tunisia.

Tunisian authorities say that during the first three months of this year, more than 13,000 migrants were prevented from going to Aspheks.

There has been an increase in the number of people arriving in Tunisia from nearby countries and then going by sea to Italy, who arrive there via Libya.

Officials of Italy and the Netherlands are also visiting Tunisia today along with the EU Commission President, in which they will also discuss the issue of measures to stop people going to Europe by sea.