64 Feared Dead As Migrants' Boat Sinks

Up to 64 north African migrants were feared dead last night after their boat sank en route from Tunisia to southern Italy, according to Tunisian authorities.

Twenty-two bodies had been found and the Tunisian coastguard said it had picked up only 11 survivors from the 75 migrants who boarded the vessel on Sunday evening.

Officials said the boat sank off the town of Chott Meriem, 100 miles south-east of Tunis.

"The 11 rescued are 10 Moroccans and one Tunisian, but we have not identified those who were found dead," an official told Reuters.

Most of the dead were believed to have been Moroccans, part of a wave of several hundred migrants who have headed for the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in recent days.

The boat reportedly broke in two a few hours after leaving from a beach in Sousse province, on the country's eastern coast.

Helicopters and coastguard launches searched the area for survivors yesterday.

Tunisian news media reported that some 200 would-be migrants had gathered near the town of Nabeul, from where the boat set sail, at the weekend in the hope of finding a place on a boat heading towards Europe.

The country's government, eager to maintain good relations with Italy, has recently stepped up efforts to crack down on illegal migration.

Italy was yesterday reportedly sending some 600 Libyans, who arrived in Lampedusa in recent days, back to Tripoli in chartered aircraft.

There were also reports, however, that a boat with a further 150 immigrants had been spotted off the island's coast last night.

Tunisian authorities have so far this year stopped at least 90 illegal migration attempts to Italy, involving more than 900 people, according to officials and European diplomats.