TUNIS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Maritime Guard on Monday managed to intercept an illegal immigration boat with 14 people on board which departed from Italian coast.
"This (immigration) attempt failed Monday at dawn in Nabeul province in northeastern Tunisia," said Houcem Jbabli, the general directorate spokesman of Tunisian Maritime Guard.
Coast guard units arrested 13 people, including a woman, while the organizer jumped into the water and escaped.
Illegal immigration usually originated from the northeast and central-east coast of Tunisia, towards the Italian coast, especially the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy.
According to United Nations Refugee Agency and International Organization for Migration, 3,811 Tunisian illegal immigrants arrived in Italy during the first eight months of 2018, compared with 1,721 of the same period last year.
