Migrant shipwreck off Tunisia leaves at least two dead, six reported missing

At Least Two Dead, Six Missing After Migrant Shipwreck Off Tunisia Coast

Details of the Migrant Shipwreck and Rescue Efforts

Sea-Watch Rescue Operation

ROME, Sept 29 (Reuters) - German charity group Sea-Watch said on Tuesday it had rescued 28 migrants and recovered two bodies, including that of a child, following a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia.

Discovery of Survivors and Victims

The group's ship Aurora found five survivors and the dead bodies in a deflated rubber dinghy in the early hours of Tuesday, the charity said.

Rescue from Oil and Gas Platform

It rescued another 23 survivors, including a toddler, from an offshore oil and gas platform where they had taken refuge after the shipwreck.

Missing Persons and Ongoing Search

Those rescued reported that at least six people, including three children, were missing, Sea-Watch said on social media, adding the Aurora was now heading to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Call for European Search-and-Rescue Programme

"Governments celebrate falling arrival numbers as a success. We see what that ‘success’ means: at least two dead and six missing, including three children," said Sea-Watch spokesperson Julia Winkler, calling for a state-run European search-and-rescue programme.

Context: Migration Trends and Fatalities

Arrival Numbers in Italy

Over 22,000 sea migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2026, interior ministry data showed, compared to more than 50,000 reported in the same period of 2025.

Mediterranean Deaths and Missing Persons

In the same period, more than 1,970 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean in a bid to reach Europe, Sea-Watch said.

Reporting Credits

(Reporting by Anna Uras, Editing by Gavin Jones and Timothy Heritage)