Italian investigator denounces Tunisian smugglers after 41 migrants feared dead

Four migrants, rescued by a passing merchant ship, have told doctors and police that waves swamped their boat. Some 41 others are missing and presumed dead. (Karolina Sobel/Sea-Watch/AP)

An Italian prosecutor investigating a capsizing that left 41 migrants feared dead in the Mediterranean Sea denounced Tunisia-based smugglers who launch boats so badly built that they quickly take on water, overturn or break apart.

The capsizing this week was the latest in a string of similar tragedies that have killed dozens of people who entrusted their lives to smugglers based on Tunisia’s shores to reach Italy in hopes of finding a better life.