TUNIS, May 15 (NNN-TAP) – The Tunisian Maritime Guard, rescued 81 illegal immigrants of different nationalities, off the country’s southeast coast, the Defence Ministry said, yesterday.
“The rescue operation took place off the El Kutf coast, in the province of Medenine, when a unit of the naval guard managed to rescue the illegal immigrants from a sinking boat, sailing to the Italian coasts,” said a ministry statement.
“These illegal immigrants, aged between 20 and 38, included 38 from Egypt, 32 from Bangladesh, 10 from Sudan, and one from Morocco,” it added.
According to the statement, the rescued people said, they sailed on Friday night, from Libya towards the Italian coast.
The number of attempts of illegal immigration from the Tunisian coasts towards Italy has been increasing, despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities, to combat the problem.– NNN-TAP
