On Monday, a boat said to be bearing some 60 migrants capsized off the coast of the southeastern island of Djerba.
The coast guard had given an initial death toll of 12 passengers, all Tunisians and including children and a woman, before later revising it upwards to 15.
Authorities said they rescued 31 people and were still looking for the others.
In its statement Wednesday, the coast guard said the main smuggler and his wife were among those arrested, adding that authorities seized three cars, a boat and “large sums of money.”
President Kais Saied, who is seeking a new term in elections Sunday, has ordered the interior ministry to investigate the event, which he called “painful and strange.”
The island of Djerba — heavily policed and crowded with tourists — has rarely been used as a departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Other areas of Tunisia, as well as neighboring Libya, have become key launchpads for migrants risking the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing to Europe.
Also on Monday, the coast guard said it rescued 22 Tunisians, most of them women and children, off the coast of Kerkennah in the east.
The day after, 36 other would-be migrants — Tunisians and Egyptians — were rescued off Bizerte in the north, local media said.
Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing from Tunisia, with Italy — whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometers (90 miles) away — often their first port of call.
The International Organization for Migration has said more than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.
Since January 1, Tunisian rights group FTDES recorded at least 400 migrant deaths and disappearances in shipwrecks off Tunisia.
More than 1,300 people died or disappeared off the North African country last year, according to the group.
At least 12 Tunisians including three children were found dead after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of the southeastern island of Djerba on Monday, a judicial official said.
The boat went down at dawn and 29 people were rescued, Medenine court spokesman Fethi Baccouche told AFP, adding five men and four women were among the dead, and that the cause of the sinking remained unknown.
The Tunisian National Guard said it was alerted by four migrants who swam back ashore.
Tunisia and neighboring Libya have become key departure points for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, often risking dangerous Mediterranean crossings.
The exodus is fueled by Tunisia’s stagnant economy, with only 0.4 percent of growth in 2023 and unemployment soaring.
The North African country has also been shaken by political tensions, after President Kais Saied orchestrated a sweeping power grab in July 2021.
Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing, with Italy — whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometers (90 miles) away — often their first port of call.
Since January 1, at least 103 makeshift boats have capsized and 341 bodies have been recovered off Tunisia’s coast, the government says.
Last year, more than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off Tunisia, according to the FTDES rights group.
The International Organization for Migration has said more than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.
