Not fewer than 35 migrants have died and 67 others rescued after their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast.
Tunisians and seven foreigners were among the survivors, including nationals from Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco and Cameroon according to Tunisia defence ministry.
He added: “The coastguard and the navy continue their search with the support of a military plane.
The rescue of more people, who are of Tunisian and other nationalities, is ongoing, the ministry said.
Security officials said the boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries.
Tunisia’s interior ministry reported a distress call at 10.45pm on Saturday night from “a fishing boat about to sink” with migrants on board.
Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe. Unemployed Tunisians and other Africans often try to depart in makeshift boats from Tunisia to Sicily in Italy.
Nine migrants, including six children, drowned in a boat accident off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast early on Sunday morning.
The boat capsized near the town of Demre in the southern province of Antalya, according to the Turkish coastguard.
The number of the dead in the Tunisian incident has since risen to 112
