More than 200 people were reported missing 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the Tunisian coast

More than 200 people were reported missing 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the Tunisian coast, the official press agency TAP reported on Thursday.

Since Tuesday, Tunisian coastguard managed to save some 570 refugees whose boat got stuck in shallow waters off the Kerkennah island as it headed for Italy.

However lack of rescue equipment and a shortage of rescue vessels in addition to poor weather caused a stampede on the boat which capsized during the early hours of Thursday, TAP reported.

Nearly 800 migrants, mostly from Africa and Asia, were on board the boat. On Wednesday evening 193 migrants were transferred to a transit camp in southern Tunisia, while 383 were dispatched to the nearby Sfax port. Seven of the people injured including two pregnant women were taken to a hospital in the city of Sfax.

Coastguard units and fishermen are still looking for the bodies of the missing people, Tunisia radio reported.

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