The head of Tunisia’s Red Crescent aid group has warned that the condition of 40 migrants stranded on a boat stuck in the Mediterranean Sea has deteriorated as the vessel has been refused docking access for days.

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

Source: The News Tribune