Tunis, 22 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Forty people have died in a boat accident off the Tunisian coast, authorities said on Wednesday.

Another 30 migrants were rescued by the coast guard, the state TAP news agency reported.

A judicial spokesman told dpa that infants and women were among the dead. The migrants were reported to be from sub-Saharan countries.

The vessel was found at dawn off the coast of the Sleqta area, south of Tunis.

It was not immediately clear when the boat sank or from which coast it had departed, the spokesman said.

He said that investigations are under way, and more details will be provided later.

Tunis has become a major transit point for the tens of thousands of sub-Saharan Africans fleeing violence and poverty every year and hoping to reach Europe.

MIA file photo