Tunisia survivor: I smeared myself with victims' blood and played dead

French survivor Maryline told reporters how she smeared herself with the blood of victims and played dead in a bid to survive the attack Credit: EBU

A woman who survived the deadly museum attack in Tunisia has told of how she smeared herself with the blood of victims and played dead to avoid being killed by terrorist gunmen.

French tourist Maryline, from Paris, was inside the Bardo Museum in Tunis when two men stormed the building and "showered bullets" in her direction as she cowered behind a pillar with other terrified tourists.

A policeman stands past blood stains, inside the compound of the national Bardo museum in Tunis Credit: Reuters

A bullet was fired into her leg and she said that a man was shot in the head directly in front of her - probably saving her life, France.info reported.

With a bullet wound in her knee, she saw a second terrorist approach "firing in all directions" and crawled across the room to her friend.

The attack left 20 foreign tourists and three Tunisians dead. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the massacre.