(CNN) At least 48 people died after a boat carrying around 180 migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia late Saturday, according to official Tunisian news agency TAP.

Dozens of others were rescued by the Tunisian coast guard, which also recovered the 48 bodies, the country's interior ministry said in a statement.

The boat was 16 nautical miles off the Sfax coast -- 170 miles south of the capital Tunis -- when it sent a distress signal at 10:45 p.m. local time (5.45 p.m. ET) on Saturday, the interior ministry said.

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People trying to reach Europe frequently use Tunisia -- which neighbors Libya -- as a starting point, often making the journey in overcrowded, makeshift boats heading for Sicily, around 250 miles away.

Wael Ferjani, a Tunisian man who survived the wreck, told AFP that the boat's capacity was "75 to 90 people maximum, but we were between 180 and 190 on board."