TUNIS, June 3, 2018 (News Wires) - At least 35 migrants were killed when their boat sank off Tunisia's southern coast and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The rescue operation was ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The migrants were of Tunisian and other nationalities. Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as Libya's coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened controls. Security officials said the boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries. Unemployed Tunisians and other Africans often try to depart in makeshift boats from Tunisia to Sicily in Italy. Separately, nine people including six children died on Sunday after a speedboat carrying 15 refugees sank off the coast of Turkey's southern province of Antalya, the Turkish coast guard said in a statement.
