Tunisian coastguard rescued 165 others, the Tunisian defense ministry said and adding that searches for more survivors are still ongoing off the coast of Sfax.

The migrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa when their boats sank off Tunisia.

In the first two months of 2021, it was estimated that 250 migrants died while crossings the Mediterranean Sea.

In 2020, the number of deaths amounted to 1,400.