The bodies of 46 people have been recovered off the coast of Tunisia after a boat carrying migrants on the Mediterranean Sea capsized near the city of Sfax at the weekend, the coastguard says.
The coastguard is still carrying out a search operation, according to a senior civil protection officer in Sfax.
The nationalities of those who were trying to make the crossing to Italy have not been officially released but state news agency TAP suggested that a large number may have been from Ivory Coast.
At least half of those who drowned were women.
One of those who drowned has been identified by the police as a Tunisian male, and it is believed he may have been the person piloting the boat.
A court order has also been issued to investigate who organised the ill-fated crossing, according to local news reports.
