Tunisia's coastguard has rescued 48 Tunisian migrants whose boat began sinking as they tried to reach Italy by sea, the interior ministry said Saturday.
A patrol spotted the vessel on Friday night off Jebeniana, 210 kilometers south of Tunis.
The nine-meter craft "was sinking after taking on water", the ministry said in a statement.
The passengers were all Tunisians aged 16 to 40, from the governorates of Medenine and Sfax, it added.
Tunisians regularly try to cross the Mediterranean to seek a better future in Europe, but departures peaked last September.
According to NGOs, the uptick reflected frustration among young people hard hit by unemployment.
In October, a collision between a migrant boat and a Tunisian military ship left at least 44 dead, in what Prime Minister Youssef Chahed called a "national disaster".
AFP
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