14 dead, 54 rescued off Tunisia in migrant boat sinking

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The Tunisian National Guard says at least 14 Africans died and 54 were rescued when a boat in which they were trying to reach Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia. The bodies were recovered overnight in the Mediterranean Sea. The National Guard said the migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa but did not release their nationalities. On the same night, coast guard boats thwarted 14 other boats carrying a total of 435 migrants attempting a similar journey. People fleeing conflict or poverty routinely take boats from Tunisian shores toward Europe, even though the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world.