8 bodies retrieved as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia's coast

Tunisian coast guards have retrieved eight bodies of migrants after their boat sank off the coast of Sfax province in southeastern Tunisia, Tunisian National Guard said Monday in a statement.

The coastal guard units and the Tunisian Navy launched the rescue operation on Sunday around 9:42 am local time (GMT+1), following a distress call from a sailor reporting the sinking of a boat off the coast of Sfax.

A total of 29 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and other nationalities were rescued, along with the retrieval of eight bodies.

The search for the missing, the number of which was not specified, is still underway.

Legal procedures have been initiated, and three survivors have been transported to Sfax University Hospital for urgent medical care.

Tunisia, located in the central Mediterranean, is one of the main transits for migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea.