A boat carrying at least 16 migrants who were trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy sank off the Tunisian coast on Tuesday, with at least five people missing and one body recovered, a security official said.
The official told Reuters 10 people had been rescued.
Coastguard units were continuing to search for the missing people who were on board the boat that capsized off the coast at the northern city of Bizerte.
In recent months, dozens of people have drowned as the frequency of attempted crossings from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy has increased.