Illegal migrants from Africa were trying to cross the Mediterranean on two boats, both of which sank near the town of El Amra, Mosaique FM said on Saturday citing Mourad Turki, a provincial judicial official.
According to Turki, 13 of the migrants died, while 37 were rescued. Another 12 migrants are missing.
About a week ago, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that nearly 100 migrants had died in the Mediterranean waters after the boat carrying them from Libya got shipwrecked.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in its annual report earlier this year that about 1,864 migrants died or disappeared in 2021 compared to 1,401 in 2020.
In recent years, the EU has been struggling with an ongoing migration crisis as people try to cross the Mediterranean, fleeing poverty and war in Africa and the Middle East. Numerous organizations and human rights groups have been engaged in the effort to rescue migrants stranded at sea and to bring them to Europe.