IOM has began screening of a first group of 193 migrants, mostly
Sub-Saharan Africans, rescued on Wednesday by the Tunisian navy and
local fishermen after the overcrowded boat they were in ran aground
in a sand bar near Tunisia's Kerkennah Islands.

Tunisian authorities have reported that some 800 people were
believed to be on board the overcrowded fishing vessel bound for
the Italian island of Lampedusa. Many are still missing.

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An initial military registration established that many of the
193 transported Thursday by the Tunisian military from the port
city of Sfax to the Choucha transit camp near the Tunisian-Libyan
border, are women and children, including a number of very young
children and infants.

IOM Tunisia Operations Assistant Maeve O'Donnell spoke to a
survivor who told her that his wife had been attacked by people on
the boat, who tried to throw her overboard.

"He told me that taking that boat was the worst mistake of his
life and said that he had heard that at least 13 people were thrown
overboard, but could not confirm it.  They were travelling for
three to four days when the boat hit something underwater. 
They were stuck there for several days and were reduced to drinking
seawater and water from the boat's engine," recounts O'Donnell.

The Tunisian Red Crescent confirmed on Thursday that there were
still bodies in the water and the recovery operation was
ongoing.  It also said that 150 people, mostly Sub-Saharan
Africans, had died and their bodies taken to Sfax Hospital. 
Five injured, including three women, two of them pregnant, were
transferred to another hospital in Sfax.

Today, the Tunisian military is transporting approximately 400
others from Sfax to Al Heyat camp, which is managed by the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC).

IOM will carry out a registration there, in coordination with
UNHCR, and provide counseling for all the migrants to determine
whether they need assistance to return to their countries of
origin.

Over 20,000 migrants from Tunisia and 13,000 from Libya have
made the dangerous journey to Lampedusa since February.

For more information, please contact:

Marc Petzoldt

IOM Tunisia

Tel: + 216.2148.2145

E-mail: "mailto:mpetzoldt@iom.int">mpetzoldt@iom.int 

or

Francesco Lembo

Tel: + 216.2442.7834

E-mail: "mailto:flembo@iom.int">flembo@iom.int