Tunisia's interior minister has fired 10 security officials amid an investigation into the sinking of a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe that left an estimated 112 dead or missing.

It was the deadliest shipwreck this year on the dangerous route from North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Braham announced late Tuesday the dismissal of 10 people including local police and security chiefs in the coastal city of Sfax and the Krekennah island, based on preliminary investigations into Sunday's sinking.

The Tunisian government has been widely criticized for not grasping the extent of the tragedy. The prime minister visited the island Tuesday to oversee the search operations.

The International Organization for Migration has counted 60 confirmed deaths, 52 people still missing and 68 survivors.