TUNIS - (Xinhua) - The official Tunisian News Agency announced Thursday evening that more than 15 bodies of illegal immigrants have been recovered off the coast of Mahdia Governorate, east of Tunis.

The agency said, quoting a source from the Naval Guard in the city of Mahdia, which it did not mention by name, that the bodies were recovered off the coasts of the cities of Chebba, Salata and Mahdia, after they were thrown into the sea as a result of a change in the direction of the wind that helped them approach the coast.

He explained that the recovered bodies are all decomposed, yet initial inspections indicate that they belong to illegal immigrants of multiple nationalities, including Africans from sub-Saharan countries.

The announcement of the recovery of these bodies comes as the Tunisian authorities continue intensive searches in various regions of the country, including Zarzis and Shaba, for illegal immigrants whose boat sank at sea during an attempt to sneak towards the Italian coast.

The corpses of illegal immigrants have been repeatedly recovered in Tunisia during the past few days, with the escalation of attempts to illegally emigrate from the Tunisian coast, which extends 1,300 km, towards the Italian coast, with the participation of Tunisians and other African nationalities.