Sharjah24 - AFP: At least two Tunisians including a baby died when their boat sank Saturday soon after leaving the country's shores, the coastguard said, amid a spike in attempts to reach Europe.
Tunisia is a major gateway for migrants attempting perilous voyages across the Mediterranean in often rickety boats in hope of a better life.
The vessel carrying 20 Tunisians went down at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) when it was only 120 metres (395 feet) from the coast in Gabes, the North African country's coastguard said.
"Two bodies have been recovered, one of a 20-year-old man and the other of an infant," it said in a statement.
Five passengers were missing, the coastguard said, adding search operations were ongoing and 13 others had been rescued, including the baby's parents.
Authorities in the city of Gabes have launched an investigation to "determine the circumstances of this tragedy", it added.
Witnesses said the boat had just left Gabes when those on board saw a trawler they mistook for a coastguard vessel.
They tried to turn around, fishermen told journalists, but the boat capsized and the baby became stuck in nets on deck, the witnesses said.
More than 1,800 people have died this year in shipwrecks on the central Mediterranean migration route, the world's deadliest -- more than twice as many as last year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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