75 Missing, 1 Dead After Migrant Vessel Sinks off Tunisia

Seventy-five people are missing and one is dead after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia. The crowded boat that sank on Wednesday morning is believed to have originated in Zuwara in north Libya. Some 24 of the migrants and crew have been rescued, according to reports citing the International Organization for Migration.

Refugee boats originating in Libya and Tunisia have been attempting more crossings in recent months; several of the vessels have sunk, killing from dozens to hundreds of migrants, according to reports.

Libya has been the preferred point of departure for African asylum seekers trying to reach Europe since the fall of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have attempted to traverse the Mediterranean Sea for Europe in recent years.