One rescued, 50 feared drowned after migrant boat sinks off Tunisia


A person rides a motorcycle through a flooded street as torrential rains hit the country, in Tunis, Tunisia January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui

VALLETTA, Jan ‌25 (Reuters) - A migrant has been ‌rescued and 50 others are ‌feared drowned after a boat sank in the Mediterranean, officials said on ‍Sunday.

The man had been ‍in the sea ‌for 24 hours and said he ‍believed ​everyone else on the vessel had died, ⁠according to the Alarm Phone group ‌which runs an emergency hotline for ⁠migrants.

The boat ‍had come from Tunisia, it added, a common departure point ‍for migrants risking the ‌dangerous journey to reach Europe.

The man was rescued by a merchant ship off Tunisia and brought to Malta for medical treatment, Malta's armed forces said. They and ‌Alarm Phone did not say when the man was rescued.

(Reporting by ​Chris Scicluna in Valletta and Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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