Officials say a boat carrying up to 35 young Tunisians trying to travel to Italy illegally has capsized near Tunis.

A government official in Tunis, the Tunisian capital, says that five survivors of yesterday's accident swam to shore at Tunisia's resort town of La Marsa, and alerted local officials to the plight of the others. But civil protection officials on the scene say as up to seven survived after the boat hit a rock and capsized.