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Death toll of migrant boat disaster off Tunisian coast rises to 82

Published : 14 Jul 2019, 22:36

  DF-Xinhua Report
Rescued migrants line up to get on a police vehicle in Floriana, Malta, on June 23, 2019. File Photo Xinhua.

The death toll of the illegal immigrant boat disaster off the southeastern coast of Tunisia rose to 82, after three more bodies were recovered off Zarzis and Djerba coasts on Saturday night, Tunisian Red Crescent (CRT) said Sunday.

The decomposed bodies were transferred to Gabes for genetic examination before their burial in a cemetery reserved for immigrants.

A total of 86 illegal immigrants, including seven women and three children, have been reported missing since their boat sank on July 3 after leaving the Libyan coast toward Italy.

According to the CRT, four persons were saved by the Tunisian coast guards before one of them lost his life because of health disorders.