Over a dozen asylum seekers found dead off Tunisia coast: official

Thirteen bodies believed to be of sub-Saharan African asylum seekers have been found dead off Tunisia's eastern coast, a judicial official has said.

The bodies were found on Tuesday and Wednesday off the coastal towns of Salakta and Chebba, said Farid Ben Jha, the spokesperson for the public prosecution in the Monastir and Mahdia governorates on Wednesday.

He added that an investigation has been opened but provided no further details.

Tunisia and neighbouring Libya have become key departure points for irregular refugees, often from other countries, who risk perilous Mediterranean Sea journeys in the hopes of reaching better lives in Europe.

Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing, with Italy - whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Tunisia - 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, according to the interior ministry.

More than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off the North African country, according to the Tunisian FTDES rights group.

The International Organisation for Migration has said that more than 30,309 asylum seekers have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.