Tunisia’s National Guard announced on Friday that 47 irregular migrants were rescued from drowning after their boats broke down at sea on their way to European shores.

The General Directorate of the National Guard said in a statement on its Facebook page that its naval forces rescued 47 people, including a pregnant woman and an infant, and took them to nearby harbours for medical treatment.

The statement added that the migrants are of Tunisian nationality and that their boat broke down at sea and leaked water inside.

Irregular migration attempts are on the rise from the Tunisian coast to European territories across the Mediterranean Sea.