(TAP)- Two naval units, on Monday, began a search operation for seventeen people who went missing in an illegal crossing from the coast of Zarzis last Wednesday.

The search operations by the Navy and Coast Guard units have been backed by owners of fishing boats in Djerba, Mahdia and Teboulba, said delegate of Zarzis Ezzdine Khlifi.

The local authorities began coordinating with international organizations and Libya to know the fate of the missing, the same source told TAP.