Reports indicate that at least 13 African migrants died when their boat sank off Tunisia, judicial official Mourad Turki told newsmen.
Another 10 migrants were missing off the coast of Sfax and 19 were rescued, the official noted.
Among the bodies recovered were four women and four children, Turki said.
Hundreds of persons have drowned off the coast of Tunisia in recent months, with the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy increasing.
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean, many fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
Recall, on March 1, News Central reported that the Tunisian Coast Guard rescued nine migrants and recovered the bodies of nine others after their boat capsized off the coast.
According to the Tunisian Defence Ministry, marine security units rescued the African migrants, whose boat capsized 18 kilometres off the coast of the central-eastern city of Mahdia.
