Search and rescue operations are underway while five suspects have been arrested, says the Tunisian National Guard.
At least 23 people are missing off the coast of Tunisia, local authorities said, as search and rescue operations are underway.
The Tunisian National Guard said in a statement on Saturday that it had been notified of “unauthorized navigation operations” from several areas along the Tunisian coast. Five suspects of organizing the crossing have been arrested, he added.
The National Guard said the families of the missing had lost contact with them and notified authorities. The statement did not identify the nationality of the missing persons.
State news agency TAP said a ship left the town of Korba in the northeastern governorate of Nabeul.
Both Tunisia and neighboring Libya are key departure points for those looking to travel irregularly by boat to Europe.
Migrants seeking to travel to Europe often arrive on Tunisia's shores from all over the world, particularly from impoverished and conflict-ridden areas of sub-Saharan Africa. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 12,000 people are registered as refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia.
Tunisian citizens have also tried to migrate to Europe by sea to escape poverty and seek employment opportunities. In 2023, the unemployment rate in Tunisia was over 16 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Some 17,000 irregular Tunisians arrived in Italy in 2023, many of them from working-class areas where refugees are staying, such as the industrial areas around Sfax, 278 kilometers (172 miles) south of Tunisia, on the coast.
In February, 17 Tunisians disappeared after setting sail for Italy on a fishing boat.
The central Mediterranean Sea is one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. Some 3,000 migrants and asylum seekers are known to have drowned while crossing it since 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The real figure is likely much higher.
In the first 11 months of 2023, the Tunisian National Guard intercepted almost 70,000 irregular migrants and asylum seekers. Of them, 77.5 percent had traveled to Tunisia from all over Africa.
