67 Migrants Rescued Off Tunisian Coast

67 Migrants have been rescued after their boat began sinking off Tunisia’s southern coast, and bodies of 11 migrants recovered. interior ministry said.

Those rescued from the fishing vessel off the coast of southern Sfax province included “Tunisians and foreigners”.

The Tunisian national guard and navy units found the ship about 30 kilometres off shore after receiving a distress call at around midnight on Saturday.

The ministry said search operations, with the help of military aircraft and divers, were ongoing.

Tunisians and migrants regularly try to cross the Mediterranean to seek a better future in Europe, but departures peaked last September.

According to NGOs, the uptick reflected frustration among young people hard hit by unemployment.

AFP report indicates that in October, a collision between a migrant boat and a Tunisian military ship left at least 44 dead, in what Prime Minister Youssef Chahed called a “national disaster”.