262 illegal immigrants rescued off southeast Tunisia

Tunisian authorities rescued on Friday 262 illegal immigrants of different nationalities in two different operations, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry, reported Xinhua.

"A rescue operation took place this afternoon off the coastal city of Sfax in southeastern Tunisia, when a unit of the naval guard managed to rescue 158 illegal immigrants from a sinking boat sailing to the Italian coasts," said the ministry statement.

The group of illegal immigrants includes two infants, according to the statement.

In a second operation earlier in the day, the Tunisian naval guard rescued 104 illegal immigrants of Tunisian, Moroccan, Sudanese, Egyptian and Ghanaian nationalities, also off the coastal city of Sfax.

The rescued said they sailed off on Tuesday 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 by the Tunisian authorities to combat the problem.