ALBAWABA - The Tunisian civil protection department said on Monday that two teenage immigrants were found dead in a refrigerated shipping container in an attempt to escape to Europe.
"Two people aged 16 and 17 died after infiltrating a container transporting fruit and vegetables on a ship that was heading to a European country," Mounir Riabi, the director of civil protection for the Tunis region, told AFP.
"Before the ship's crew became aware of their presence and returned to the port of Tunis," Riabi said.
The two teenage immigrants were part of a group of four young people attempting illegal migration, spending approximately eight hours in the refrigerated container. According to Riabi, the two surviving members of the group were hospitalized and are "in a stable condition".
Last week, the national guard announced the disappearance of approximately 40 Tunisians who left Sfax province on Tunisia's central coast and were attempting to reach Italy, whose island of Lampedusa is approximately 150 kilometers away.
In 2023, more than 155,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy, a 50% increase from the previous year.
According to the Italian Ministry of Interior, Tunisian migrants made up the second-largest contingent, with 17,304 people, trailing Guineans, who had 18,204.
Declining economic conditions and a lack of opportunities are major motivators for migrants to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.
Tunisia's economy, devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and a drought that destroyed its agriculture in 2023, is nearing a halt, with a 1.3 percent growth rate last year and a youth unemployment rate of around 38 percent.
