9 migrants dead in shipwreck off Tunisia

TUNIS, Dec 13 (AP): Tunisian authorities have found the bodies of nine migrants following a shipwreck off the country's Mediterranean coast, with 27 people rescued and six others still missing, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday.

The North African country as well as neighbouring Libya have become key departure points for migrants, often from other parts of the continent, who risk perilous sea journeys in the hopes of reaching better lives in Europe.

Farid Ben Jha, a public prosecution spokesman for the eastern governorates of Monastir and Mahdia, said that survivors of the latest shipwreck told authorities their boat had capsized after setting sail on Tuesday night.

They had left from the coastal city, Tunisia's main departure point for migrants heading to Italy, Ben Jha said.