42 illegal migrants captured in Tunisia

By Yosra Ouanes and Zeynep Tufekci

ZARZIS, Tunisia

A Tunisian Red Crescent official said Sunday, 42 illegal migrants were captured at the country's coastal commune in the southeast trying to sail to Italy's Lampedusa Island.

Shamseddine Marzouq of the independent Tunisian Red Crescentt told the Anadolu Agency correspondent that women and children were amongst the 42 illegal migrants captured in the boat fleeing from Zarzis port to Italy's Lampedusa Island.

Zarzis, a municipality of the southeastern town of Medenine in Tunisia, is 138 kilometers away from Italy's Lampedusa Island in the Mediterennean sea.

Since the collapse of central authority in neighboring Libya in 2011, the North African coast has become a hub for human trafficking and illegal migration.

Hundreds have died in recent years while attempting to make the dangerous crossing from Africa to southern Europe.