File Photo: Migrants rescued by Tunisia s national guard during an attempted crossing of the Mediterranean by boat, rest on the beach at the port of el-Ketef in Ben Guerdane in southern Tunisia, on December 15, 2021. AP
Red Crescent official Mongi Slim said the migrants were intercepted and rescued off Zarzis when their boat broke down.
Libya, which plunged into civil war following the 2011 toppling and killing of leader Moamer Gaddafi, has become a major route for migrants seeking to reach Europe to escape poverty and conflict.
The rescued migrants were taken to El Ketef port before being transferred to International Organization for Migration (IOM) premises, Slim said.
A separate Tunisian defence ministry statement said the navy had rescued 28 migrants aged between 14 and 33 off Zarzis on Thursday. They had also departed from Libya.
The IOM says that 23,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014 while trying to reach Europe -- including nearly 1,700 this year.
On Tuesday the IOM said at least 160 migrants drowned off Libya's coast after their boats sank over the previous week.
The Italian island of Lampedusa is located just 140 kilometres (less than 90 miles) from Tunisian shores.
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