Tunisia’s maritime guards on Monday rescued 50 undocumented immigrants from sinking boats after they foiled three illegal immigration attempts off the country’s southeastern coast, Xinhua reports citing the Tunisian National Guard.
The national guard said in a statement via its Facebook account that the immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa were rescued off the coast of Sfax province.
It added that 28 other wanted persons and some steel boats were also seized in the operations.
The statement didn’t give the total number of those who tried to cross the Mediterranean toward the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is often chosen as the first stop for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to make illegal sea voyages to Italy.
Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the main departure points for migrants seeking irregular entry into Europe.