After record year, Tunisia reports migrant deaths from shipwreck near Libyan waters

Tunisian coast guard retrieved the bodies of nine people who died after their boat sank on Thursday, marking another tragedy as migrants continue to attempt to traverse the Mediterranean Sea to Europe

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Tunisia's coast guard retrieved the bodies of nine people who died after their boat sank on Thursday, marking the latest disaster for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

The coast guard also retrieved 45 people from the boat after it started to fill with water four miles (about six kilometers) off the coast of Zarzis, a common departure point near Tunisia's border with Libya.

Coast guard spokesman Houssameddine Jbabli said the boat, which was carrying non-Tunisian passengers, likely embarked from Libya and that survivors were transported to a local hospital in Tunisia.

Several weeks earlier, a large boat with an estimated 54 Tunisians likely attempting to migrate to Europe went missing at sea, sparking protests from relatives from the city of El Hancha. The relatives have demanded information and a governmental response to the growing number of Tunisian youth who go missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Migrants' rights groups such as the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, known by its initials in French, FTDES, have criticized the government and said they have not done enough to save the lives of those at sea.