(MENAFN) At least 40 individuals have drowned, and 30 others were saved after a migrant vessel sank near the coast of Mahdia, Tunisia, on Wednesday morning, according to local officials.

The iron-hulled boat, carrying approximately 70 sub-Saharan migrants, overturned close to Salakta, a town along the Mahdia governorate coastline.

A local news agency, citing Walid Chtiri, the spokesperson for the Mahdia Primary Court, who spoke to Jawhar FM radio, reported that "among the dead were women and children."

The Tunisian Coast Guard and naval forces responded swiftly at dawn, retrieving bodies and assisting survivors. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor’s office in Mahdia has launched an inquiry into the disaster.

Several media outlets reported that the vessel was attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean, a journey often undertaken by individuals escaping poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mahdia, situated roughly 150 km south of Tunis, has become a prominent departure hub for irregular migration toward Europe, alongside the port city of Sfax.

In February, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicated that around 29% of migrants arriving in Italy by sea in 2024 had left from Tunisia, though that proportion fell to about 5% in early 2025.

The UN agency also noted that 1,842 people were reported dead or missing along Central Mediterranean routes in 2024.

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