The 163 people were picked up by a "naval unit" on Saturday (February 5) in a "joint operation with the coast guard," the ministry said a day later.

One person was a Moroccan national, and 162 were Tunisians, the ministry added. Among the passengers, aged between eight and 48, were nine women and 16 children.

According to the ministry, the naval units found the vessel 12 kilometers off the coast of Sfax -- a key departure area for migrants seeking to make their way to Italian and other European shores. The closest point, the Italian island of Lampedusa, is only some 180 kilometers away. The much larger island of Sicily is located about 380 kilometers northeast of Sfax.

Also read: 30 migrants feared dead after shipwreck off Tunisia's coast

Springboard to Europe

According to the ministry, the group set off overnight Friday to Saturday. They were taken to the Sfax fishing port, where they were handed over to the coast guard, the ministry said.

Tunisia's economy has been tanking since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the country has been going through a deep political crisis after President Kais Saied seized key powers last July. Both Tunisia and neighboring Libya have served as key transit routes for migrants trying to reach Europe.

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, 2021 saw roughly twice as many migrants arriving (67,477) as 2020, when 34,154 arrivals were recorded.

Citing the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, news agency AFP reported that the Tunisian coast guard intercepted 19,500 migrants during crossing attempts over the first three quarters of 2021.

The central Mediterranean route has become the world's deadliest migration trail, according to humanitarian groups and UN agencies like IOM, which recorded at least 1,553 missing migrants last year.

Read more: Di Maio -- 'Tunisia is key in fighting illegal migration'

With AFP