A Tunisian official said yesterday that the body of a drowned migrant has been recovered, 11 migrants have been rescued and ten are missing after their boat sank off the coast of the Sfax governorate on the Mediterranean Sea, Anadolu Agency reported.
Another official told Anadolu that the boat carrying 22 migrants, most of whom were Tunisian males, had sailed from that southeastern city of Zarzis before it broke down and sank near Sfax on Saturday night.
An investigation has been opened into the incident.
Tunisian National Guard units, naval forces from the army, and Civil Defence divers are still looking for the missing migrants.
Tunisia has witnessed a rise in the rate of irregular immigration to Europe, mostly toward Italy, as political and economic crises escalate in the North African country and in other African countries whose migrants seek to reach Europe through Tunisia.
Authorities thwart Europe-bound irregular migration attempts on an almost daily basis.
READ: Boat sinking off Tunisia leaves one dead, at least 10 migrants missing
