Officials say the boat carrying more than 50 Tunisian migrants had been trying to reach Europe illegally.
ADVERTISEMENTAt least three migrants have died and ten others are missing after a boat sank on Thursday off the coast of Tunisia.
The country's National Guard said more than 50 Tunisian migrants had been trying to reach Europe on a makeshift boat.
The vessel had left from the coast of Sfax but later sank, a spokesperson said on Friday. At least 44 other migrants were rescued from the scene.
The port city has become a major departure point for African migrants trying to reach the Italian coast.
Earlier this month, Tunisian authorities announced that they had found the bodies of 24 drowned migrants after their boats sank off the coast of Sfax between 22 and 30 April.
Nearly 2,000 migrants went missing or drowned in the Mediterranean in the same year, compared to 1,401 in 2020, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).