Authorities said that among the bodies recovered off the coast of Sfax, Kerkennah and Mahdia were the bodies of two women and two children. The number of migrant boats from Tunisia heading towards Italian coasts has sharply increased recently.
Tunisia has become a focal point for migrants' ventures into the Mediterranean Sea because the Italian island of Lampedusa is relatively close to the North African coast.
On April 8, At least 23 African migrants were missing and four died after their two boats sank off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a judicial official said.
Numerous migrant boats have foundered in the waters off Tunisia in the past several years as conditions in Africa continue to drive people to seek a life elsewhere.
