The number of illegal immigrants killed after their boat sank off the southeastern coast of Tunisia on Sunday has risen to 48.

Tunisia’s interior ministry reportedly received a distress call at 10.45pm on Saturday night from “a fishing boat about to sink” with migrants on board.

According to Tunisia’s Ministry of Defence, a total of 75 people have been rescued so far, including 60 Tunisians, five people from Sub-Saharan Africa, two Moroccans and one Libyan.

Rachid Bouhawala, the Chief Press Officer at the Ministrysaid relief operations were continuing in coordination with the army as well as units of the Maritime Guard and the civil protection agency.

No fewer than 180 illegal immigrants, consisting of 80 African nationalities were aboard the boat which was stranded off the island of Kerkennah, a town which has been notorious as an illegal gateway to Europe from Tunisia.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 1,910 Tunisian migrants have reached Italy by sea since the beginning of this year.

Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants trying to make their way to mainland Europe as unemployed Tunisians and other Africans often try to depart in makeshift boats from Tunisia to Sicily in Italy.