![Tunisian naval forces rescue migrants from the Mediterranean after the boats transporting them broke down while trying to reach Europe, in Tunisia on June 27, 2021 [Tasnim Nasri/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GettyImages-1233687335-scaled-e1681330183713.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
TUNIS, April 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Tunisian coast guards have retrieved 10 bodies of illegal immigrants after two boats sank off Tunisian coasts, Tunisian National Guard said.
“The two boats respectively sank off the coast of Sfax Province in southeastern Tunisia and in the north of the country,” Tunisian National Guard’s spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said in a statement.
A total of 76 illegal immigrants, including four Tunisians and 72 sub-Saharan African nationalities, were rescued during the operations.
Jbabli emphasized that those immigrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean toward the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The island of Lampedusa, the first stop usually chosen by illegal immigrants for their sea voyage toward Italy, is about 80 km away from the Tunisian coast. — NNN-XINHUA
