Nine immigrants who were trying to reach Europe lost their lives when the vessel in which they were aboard became unruly off her coast Tunisiadue to a mechanical failure, as was made known by the authorities of this country.

The boat, which was carrying more than 50 people of various nationalities, had set sail “from the shores of a neighboring country” and was spotted today by the Tunisian coast guard off the town of Zarzis, National Guard spokesman Houssem Edin Jembali told AFP.

Tunisian media reported that the country of origin of the vessel was Libya.

According to the announcement of the National Guard, the vessel suffered mechanical damage due to a water leak. Nine migrants died, said Lassad Hor, the spokesman for the Medenin Governorate prosecutor’s office, where Zarzis falls under. “It is very likely that they died of suffocation, due to the fumes from the fuel inside the boat,” he added.

The migrants were all men and came from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Ships sailing from Libya to Europe often break down off Tunisia, which is also a major departure point for many migrants. On Monday, the Tunisian coast guard announced that 17 Tunisians who had departed a week earlier from the Bizerte region in the north were missing. On February 8, 13 Sudanese refugees were killed and 27 others are still missing after the boat they had set off from Sfax to reach Italy, whose nearest shores are 150 kilometers from Tunisia, sank.