Tunis, May 19 (IANS): The Tunisian Maritime Guard has found five bodies of illegal immigrants off the country's southeast coast, National Guard spokesman, Houcemeddine Jbabli said on social media.
The Maritime Guard also arrested 142 illegal immigrants of different African nationalities off the coastal city of Sfax in southeastern Tunisia in five illegal immigration attempts, according to Jbabli on Wednesday.
"These groups of immigrants were sailing toward the Italian coasts," he added.
Located in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the most popular points of illegal immigration to Europe, Xinhua news agency reported.
Although Tunisian authorities have adopted rigorous measures to tackle the problem, the number of illegal immigration attempts from Tunisia to Italy has increased.