TUNIS, Reuters - A boat carrying about 16 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy sank off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday, a security official told Reuters.

He added that one body was recovered, while ten others were rescued.

The coast guard continues to search for at least five missing persons who were on board the boat that capsized off the coast of Ras Anglaa in Bizerte, northern Tunisia.

In recent months, dozens of people drowned off the Tunisian coast, with the number of attempts to cross from Tunisia and Libya to Italy increased.

Hundreds of thousands have made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in recent years.,