TUNIS - Tunisia’s coastguard has rescued 48 Tunisian migrants whose boat began sinking as they tried to reach Italy by sea, the interior ministry said Saturday. A patrol spotted the vessel on Friday night off Jebeniana, 210 kilometres south of Tunis. The nine-metre (30-foot) craft “was sinking after taking on water”, the ministry said in a statement. The passengers were all Tunisians aged 16 to 40, from the governorates of Medenine and Sfax, it added. Tunisians regularly try to cross the Mediterranean to seek a better future in Europe, but departures peaked last September.