Tunisian authorities recovered the bodies of 20 people who appeared to have drowned after a shipwreck off the country's Mediterranean coastline, near a popular point of departure for migrants attempting to reach Europe by boat.
The country's National Guard said in a statement on Wednesday that coast guard members dispatched to the sinking ship rescued five people and retrieved the bodies of 20 others 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the coast north of Sfax. The coastline is roughly 81 miles (130 kilometers) from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
