Publish Date: 15 August 2023 - 12:30

TEHRAN, Aug. 15 (MNA) – A Tunisian official says "35 people, most of them Tunisians" including women and children were on board the boat that went down "shortly after departing from the coast of Sidi Mansour" near Sfax.

TRT Eleven asylum seekers have died and seven others were missing while 23 were rescued after a boat capsized off Tunisia's Sfax, the Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported citing the Tunisia state news agency (TAP).

"Sfax coastguard units rescued 23 people and recovered 11 bodies of migrants whose boat sank off the coast of Sidi Mansour in Sfax on Monday morning. The boat was carrying mostly Tunisians, but also a number of sub-Saharan Africans", it added.

The boat, carrying "35 people, most of them Tunisians" including women and children, went down "shortly after departing from the coast of Sidi Mansour" near Sfax, said court spokesperson Faouzi Masmoudi.

The boat sank "less than an hour after departure", according to the spokesperson.

Last week judicial officials reported the deaths of at least 11 irregular migrants in a shipwreck off Sfax, as the North African country sees a spike in attempted sea crossings.

The eastern Tunisian port city is located about 130 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa.

AMK/PR