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Italy sinking: Search resumes for missing migrants Italy sinking: Search resumes for missing migrants
(about 2 hours later)
Divers off southern Italy have been searching the wreck of a boat which sank on Thursday drowning more than 300 African migrants. Divers off southern Italy have been searching the wreck of a boat which sank on Thursday carrying around 500 African migrants.
The fishing vessel foundered less than 1km (half a mile) from the island of Lampedusa after it caught fire. But rough seas are hampering their work to find some 200 people still unaccounted for. Officials say there is little hope now of finding survivors.
At least 111 bodies have now been recovered and some 200 of those on board the 20m (66ft) boat are still unaccounted for. At least 111 bodies have been recovered and 155 people rescued.
Dozens of bodies are thought to remain in the sunken vessel. The fishing boat foundered less than 1km (half a mile) from the island of Lampedusa after it caught fire.
There had been about 500 passengers on board - most from Eritrea and Somalia, according to the UN. Rescuers saved 155. Dramatic footage has emerged of the boat lying upright on the seabed some 150ft (45m) below the surface. A diver is seen going down to the boat, which appears to have a hole in its deck.
The diving operation had to be temporarily suspended due to choppy seas, Italian media reports say. Divers have described horrific scenes inside the sunken vessel, with corpses crammed into the wreck and some of the bodies - even in death - seeming to cling to the sides of the hull, the BBC's Alan Johnston reports.
Officials are quoted as saying some 100 bodies could remain in the wreck, which lies some 40m below the surface. So many bodies have been brought ashore that the island has had to send for more coffins and turn a hangar at the airport into a huge, makeshift mortuary.
Italians are aghast at the scale of the tragedy, Italy's worst ever migrant shipwreck, our correspondent says.
A day of mourning has been declared, with flags flying at half-mast and a minute of silence observed in all Italian schools.
A special mass is being held on Friday evening in the church in Lampedusa.
Pope Francis, visiting Assisi, described Friday as "a day of tears" for the victims and condemned a "savage world" that ignores the plight of "people who have to flee poverty and hunger".
Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini - who wept at the scene of so many bodies - said: "After these deaths, we are expecting something to change. Things cannot stay the same."
"The future of Lampedusa is directly linked to policies on immigration and asylum," she told reporters.
"This is not an Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has said. "Lampedusa has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the frontier of Italy."
'Continuous horror'
Italian coastguard ships, fishing boats and helicopters have been taking part in the rescue and recovery operation off an area of Lampedusa called Rabbit Island.
The search has been widened beyond the initial radius of four nautical miles in an effort to recover bodies that have been swept away by tides.
But the worsening weather conditions have put the operation on hold, the BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports from Lampedusa.
Mr Alfano said the divers had seen dozens of bodies in the wreck. "There could be even more in the hold, where the poorest of the poor are usually put," he told parliament.
Half of the bodies so far recovered are said to be women and four are children.Half of the bodies so far recovered are said to be women and four are children.
A minute of silence was being observed in all Italian schools on Friday in memory of the victims and flags are at half-mast. A special mass is being held on Friday evening in the church in Lampedusa. The skipper of the boat, a 35-year-old Tunisian, was arrested, Mr Alfano announced on a visit to Lampedusa on Thursday. "He had been deported from Italy in April," he said.
The skipper of the boat, a 35-year-old Tunisian, was arrested, announced Italy's Interior Minister Angelino Alfano when he visited the island on Thursday. The 66ft (20m) ship was carrying around 500 migrants - mostly from Eritrea and Somalia - when it set sail from the Libyan port of Misrata, survivors said.
"He had been deported from Italy in April," Mr Alfano said. The boat began taking on water when its motor stopped working as it neared Lampedusa early on Thursday morning, they said.
"This is not an Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy," he continued. "Lampedusa has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the frontier of Italy." Some of those on board then reportedly set fire to a piece of material to try to attract the attention of passing ships, only to have the fire spread to the rest of the boat.
'Immense tragedy'
The ship appears to have set sail from Misrata in Libya and began taking on water when its motor stopped working as it neared Lampedusa early on Thursday morning.
It is thought that some of those on board set fire to a piece of material to try to attract the attention of passing ships, only to have the fire spread to the rest of the boat.
The boat is thought to have capsized when everyone moved to one side.The boat is thought to have capsized when everyone moved to one side.
It is one of the worst such disasters to occur off the Italian coast in recent years; Prime Minister Enrico Letta tweeted that it was "an immense tragedy".
In a separate incident on Thursday, local media reported that around 200 migrants were escorted to the port of Syracuse on the island of Sicily, when their vessel encountered difficulties five miles off the coast.
Earlier this week, 13 migrants drowned while trying to reach Sicily.
'Continuous horror'
Footage from Lampedusa showed bodies being laid out on the dockside.Footage from Lampedusa showed bodies being laid out on the dockside.
The mayor, Giusi Nicolini, described the scene as a "continuous horror", while a local doctor said the hardest part to deal with was seeeing the bodies of children. Mayor Nicolini has described the scene as a "continuous horror", while a local doctor said the hardest part to deal with was seeing the bodies of children.
An Eritrean woman who had initially been placed among the bodies on the shore was later found to be breathing and was taken to hospital in Sicily. But there is little hope of finding anyone else alive. An Eritrean woman who had initially been placed among the bodies on the shore was later found to be breathing and was taken to hospital in Sicily.
The search was widened during Thursday beyond the initial radius of four nautical miles from Lampedusa in an effort to recover bodies that had been swept away by tides
Bodies were later taken to a hangar at the island's airport, because there was no more room at the morgue.
A ferry arrived at the island carrying dozens of coffins and several hearses.
Pope Francis, visiting Assisi, described Friday as "a day of tears" for the victims.
In July he visited the Lampedusa and condemned the "global indifference" to the plight of migrants trying to arrive there.
Rising numbers
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres commended the swift action taken by the Italian coast guard to save lives.In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres commended the swift action taken by the Italian coast guard to save lives.
Mr Guterres also expressed "dismay at the rising global phenomenon of migrants and people fleeing conflict or persecution and perishing at sea".Mr Guterres also expressed "dismay at the rising global phenomenon of migrants and people fleeing conflict or persecution and perishing at sea".
The UN said that in recent months most migrants attempting the crossing were fleeing the conflicts in Syria and the Horn of Africa, rather than coming from sub-Saharan Africa.The UN said that in recent months most migrants attempting the crossing were fleeing the conflicts in Syria and the Horn of Africa, rather than coming from sub-Saharan Africa.
The number of those arriving by sea to Italy this year until 30 September stood at 30,100, according to the UN.The number of those arriving by sea to Italy this year until 30 September stood at 30,100, according to the UN.
The main nationalities of those arriving were Syrian (7,500), Eritrean (7,500) and Somali (3,000).The main nationalities of those arriving were Syrian (7,500), Eritrean (7,500) and Somali (3,000).