Tunisian navy rescued on Monday 100 illegal immigrants off the country’s southeast coast, who were on their way to the Italian coast aboard a makeshift boat, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, APA reports citing Xinhua.
“The rescue operation took place off Zarzis 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 the statement.
“These illegal immigrants included 82 men, ten women and eight infants,” the statement added.
According to the statement, the rescued said they sailed on Monday morning from Libya toward the Italian coast.
They were transferred to the naval base in the city of Sfax and handed over to the National Guard in the region to receive legal procedures.
The number of attempts of illegal immigration from the Tunisian coasts toward Italy has been increasing despite the strict measures taken by the Tunisian authorities to combat the problem.
