After record year, Tunisia reports migrant deaths from shipwreck near Libyan waters

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and SAM METZ
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian coast guard retrieved the bodies of nine people who died after their boat sank on Thursday, marking another tragedy as migrants continue to attempt to traverse the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The coast guard also retrieved 45 people from the boat after it started to fill with water. The coast guard said the boat likely embarked from Libya and that survivors were transported to a local hospital in Tunisia. The shipwreck is the latest tragedy to be reported off the coast of North Africa, where migrants are increasingly attempting to traverse the Mediterranean to flee war, economic hardship or search for a better life.