Death toll hits 68 since migrant boat sinking off Tunisia

The Red Crescent said 38 more bodies were recovered Thursday from the sea off Tunisia, raising to 68 the number found since an Italy-bound boat filled with migrants sank last week.

Malian migrant Soleiman Coulibaly was rescued after the boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Tunisian Coast. Source: AFP

Thirty-six of the apparent victims were found close to Zarzis in southeast Tunisia and two off the nearby island of Djerba, the Tunisian Red Crescent's Mongi Slim told AFP.

A Malian survivor, one of only three to have escaped with their lives, has told the UN's International Organization for Migration that 86 people had been on board the dinghy which capsized on July 1.

The boat, filled with mostly African migrants, tipped over shortly after setting out from the Libyan town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, with the aim of reaching Italy.

Libya has in recent years been a major departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe in perilous journeys across the Mediterranean.