(CNN) At least 20 African migrants died when their boat sank off Tunisia on Thursday as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a Tunisian security official said. The coastguard rescued five people and was searching for about 20 others who were still unaccounted for, the official said. "The boat sank about six miles from the coast of Sfax. Twenty bodies were recovered, five others were rescued, and all are from sub-Saharan Africa," the security official, Ali Ayari, said. Around 45 people were on the boat when it sank, he added.

Source: CNN December 24, 2020 14:15 UTC