A coastguard rescues five people, according to a Tunisian official, 45 people were on board when they were chased.
At least 20 migrants and refugees died when their boat went off the coast of Tunisia while trying to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, Tunisian authorities said.
The Tunisian coastguard rescued five people and the search for more was continuing, National Guard suspect Ali Ayari told Reuters news agency Thursday, adding that the ship was overloaded and in poor condition.
Defense ministry arguments Mohamed Ben Zekri told The Associated Press that local coastguard boats and fishermen found the bodies off the central Tunisian city of Sfax.
There were about 45 people on board when she sank, Ayari said.
“The ship sank about six miles (9.6km) off the coast of Sfax. Twenty bodies were found, five more were rescued, all from sub-Saharan Africa, ”said Ayari.
The coastline near the Tunisian port of Sfax has become a major departure point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and seeking a better life in the Region. Europe.
More than 620 people are feared drowned in the Mediterranean this year on the perilous voyage that has killed at least 20,000 since 2014, according to data collected by the international body for migration (IOM).
The United Nations says it is the deadliest way to immigrate in the world.
Around 17,000 people arrived in Italy and Malta this year by boat from Libya and Tunisia.