75 rescued migrants allowed to dock in Tunisian port

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The International Organization for Migration said an Egyptian ship carrying 75 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea docked in Tunisia's southern port of Zarziz.

The migrants on board the Maridive 601, including 64 from Bangladesh, nine Egyptians, one Moroccan and one Sudanese were allowed Wednesday to disembark by Tunisian authorities, after almost three weeks stranded off the country's coast.

The IOM office in Tunis welcomed the Tunisian authorities' decision and said it will take care of the migrants and, "for those who asked for it," help them return to their country of origin.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 555 people died in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach the European continent, according to the IOM.