Tunisian authorities have reported that the morgue at the central hospital in the port city of Sfax, which serves a population of about one million people, is facing a health crisis due to the overcrowding caused by more than 200 bodies arriving, including those of 41 migrants who are rumored to have died in Tunisian waters while trying to reach Europe, and the retrieval of 210 bodies of irregular migrants between April 18 and 27. National Guard spokesman Houssem Eddine Jebabli made a written statement about the incident, saying that the naval forces had retrieved the dead migrants’ bodies in Shfakes, Karkana, and Mahdia between April 18 and 27. The statement also noted that preliminary work was conducted in cooperation with local authorities, but did not disclose the nationalities of the retrieved bodies, only that they came from sub-Saharan African countries.
Jebabli stated that there is no more room in Tunisian morgues and that officials are struggling to control the increase in border crossings. Sfax, the port city where the central morgue for the region is located, has reported that the lack of capacity at the morgue due to the arrival of more than 200 bodies has become a health issue.
Jebabli stated that the corpses had been in the water for several days and had started to decompose. He also remarked that it was an unprecedented situation for so many people to lose their lives in such a short time.
In recent months, attempts to migrate from Tunisia to Europe have increased due to the economic and political crisis. The situation has been a cause of concern for European countries following the trend of irregular migrants’ first stop being Italy.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, the Ministry of Interior data showed that around 9,000 people arrived in Italy by sea in 2022, while the number surpassed 36,600 in the first four months of 2023.
Lampedusa, an island located between Malta and Tunisia in the Mediterranean Sea, is the primary destination for irregular migrants attempting to migrate to Europe. Every year, thousands of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa come to Tunisia to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better future. Although some successfully reach Europe, many perish at sea, while others find themselves living in one of Tunisia’s migrant communities for years.
