SFAX, Tunisia

At least 11 people died and seven others were rescued when a boat carrying irregular migrants sank off southern Tunisia, officials said late Sunday.

A police source said the boat carrying 27 migrants, all Africans, sank off the coast of the port city of Sfax.

The dead included eight women and three children, the official said.

Countries in North Africa like Tunisia and Libya are seen as a starting point for irregular migrants who want to reach Europe illegally from the Mediterranean.