Tunis: A major accident reported from Tunisia on Thursday.  A Tunisian security official said, at least 20 African migrants died when their boat sank off as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa. The official informed that the boat sank about six miles from the coast of Sfax. Twenty bodies were recovered, five others were rescued, and all are from sub-Saharan Africa. Around 45 people were on the boat when it sank.

The official told reuters that the five people have been recused by the coast guards and was searching for about 20 others who were still unaccounted for. The coastline near the Tunisian port city of Sfax has become a major departure point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Over 600 people have drowned in the Mediterranean this year during the dangerous sea journey that has killed at least 20,000 since 2014. The United Nations calls it the deadliest migration route in the world. About 17,000 people arrived in Italy and Malta this year by boat from Libya and Tunisia in search of a better life in Europe. 

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