113 illegal immigrants rescued off SE Tunisia

The Tunisian Maritime Guard on Monday rescued 113 illegal immigrants of different nationalities off the country's southeast coast, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry, reported Xinhua.

"The rescue operation took place this afternoon, when a unit of the naval guard managed to rescue the illegal immigrants from a sinking boat sailing to the Italian coasts," said the ministry statement.

"These illegal immigrants aged between 15 and 38, included 46 people from Bangladesh, 29 Sudanese, 22 Eritreans, 11 Egyptians, two Moroccans, two Ghanaians and one person from Nigeria," the statement added.

According to the statement, the rescued said they sailed on Sunday night from Libya toward the Italian coast.

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.