Bodies of 41 migrants found off Tunisian coast

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Coastguards have recovered the bodies of 41 migrants off the Tunisian coast as the number of people dying as they try to reach Europe from Africa soars.

A senior official said more than 200 people had drowned in the last 10 days.

Tunisian morgues were running out of space and authorities were struggling to contain the surge in attempted crossings, he said.

The north African country has taken over from neighbouring Libya as the main embarkation point for migrants.

Parts of the Tunisian coastline are only about 150 kilometres from Lampedusa, an Italian island frequently used as a crossing point to the mainland.

"On Tuesday, we had more than 200 bodies, well beyond the capacity of the hospital, which creates a health problem," said Faouzi Masmoudi, justice official in the port city of Sfax where the central morgue for an area of around a million people is sited.