Earlier reports by the Red Crescent and UN said 150 bodies had been found, but Tunisia's coast guard later said only two had so far been recovered.

About 250 passengers, mainly from Africa, remain missing after the boat hit a sandbank, then capsized during a rescue operation.

An estimated 580 people were saved by the coast guard.

The rescue operation, which began off the Kerkennah islands on June 1, are continuing.

Seven people, including two pregnant women, are in intensive care in hospitals at Sfax on the Tunisian mainland, officials said.