The survivors reported having left Sfax, Tunisia, on a metal boat with a total of 45 people on Aug. 3. About six hours into their voyage, a huge wave overturned the vessel, RAI state television reported. The migrants rescued by the Rimona were then transferred onto an Italian coast guard vessel which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, said Sea-Watch's Paul Wagner. An hour later they saw a copter, then the oil tanker came” and rescued them, Chiaramonte told RaiNews24, adding that the survivors reported that altogether around 15 people had rudimentary lifesavers. Tunisia's President Kais Saied’s has promoted unfounded remarks that sub-Saharan migrants are part of a plot to alter the country’s identity and demographics fueling tensions between locals and Black foreigners.
