Health condition of Bangladeshis stranded at Med deteriorated

The head of Tunisia’s Red Crescent aid group has warned the condition of Bangladeshi nationals among 40 migrants stranded on a boat stuck in the Mediterranean Sea has deteriorated as the vessel has been refused docking access for days, reports Associated Press (AP).

Mongi Slim the Red Crescent told the Associated Press on Friday that the migrants have been stranded at sea for at least nine days and “the sanitary and psychological situation is very bad”, the report added.

He also said the migrants include nationals from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt.

Tunisian authorities are still deciding whether to grant the boat entry after Italy, Malta and France refused.

The report also said the migrants reportedly were at sea for five days before a Maltese ship picked them up and transferred them Monday to the Tunisian-flagged Sarost 5.

44 migrants found inside a truck

Quoting Macedonian police the AP said they found 44 migrants hidden in a truck on a highway in centre of the country.

Police on Friday said they had pursued the vehicle late Wednesday until the driver stopped the van near a highway tunnel.

The 44 migrants - 10 Syrians, 20 Pakistanis, 12 Afghans and two Indian - were found inside the vehicle, while the driver fled and evaded arrest.

The migrants were detained for questioning in southern Macedonian town of Gevgleija, near the border with Greece.  Police gave no other details of where the migrants had traveled from.