Algerian television news reported that the bodies of six migrants were retrieved off the country’s coast after their boat sunk on Monday. Six survivors meanwhile were rescued. Search operations reportedly still continue for an unspecified number of missing people.
According to Agence France Presse (AFP), the migrant boat capsized off Algeria's coast at around 4:00am local time.
AFP also reported that the private television channel Ennahar said that "six bodies were retrieved and six injured people, including a pregnant woman, were transferred to hospital at Bainem," located outside the capital, Algiers.
The organization that monitors migrant boats in the Mediterranean, Alarm Phone, also tweeted about the shipwreck:
Ennahar also reported that originally there had been around 20 people on the boat, all aged between 20 and 30; search operations for those still missing continued throughout the day.
The boat's occupants were reported as originating from sub-Saharan Africa.
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Popular transit country
Algerian authorities say that more than 2,350 migrants have been rescued or intercepted in the first seven months of 2022 off the country's coast. The Algerian defense ministry says that its coastguard had "foiled" many of the irregular migration attempts.
Most migrants departing from Algeria tend to head to Spain, where they hope to find better opportunities. In most instances, they travel on homemade vessels which aren't built to withstand conditions at sea.
Read more: Shipwreck off Algerian coast claims 11 lives
with AFP, Reuters