At least eight migrants perished when their boat collided with a Tunisian navy vessel and sank off the eastern Kerkennah islands, Tunisian defence ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati said on Monday.
Rescuers recovered the bodies of eight migrants and saved 38 people after the accident late on Sunday around 54 kilometres from the Kerkennah islands, Oueslati stated.
"The migrant boat rammed into the Tunisian navy ship and this caused the shipwreck, "Oueslati said.
It is feared the death toll could rise as search operations for the further bodies were still taking place, he said.
Vessels from Italy's tax police, coastguard and navy are taking part in the search operations, which are being coordinated by Maltese coastguard, an Italian coastguard spokesman said.
Around 70 people were believed to have been on board the boat at the time of the collision, according to the UN migration agency, the International Organisation for Migration.
The boat reportedly set sail from the eastern Tunisian coastal city of Sfax.
Crossings from Tunisia to Sicily and Lampedusa have picked up since July as coastguard and an armed group in the smuggling hub of Sabratha have tightened controls in Libya - long the main launchpad for hundreds of thousands of boat migrants heading to Europe from North Africa each year.
