Divers are hoping to resume their search for the
bodies of more than 200 migrants, two days after
their boat sank off the Italian island of
Lampedusa.
Rescuers have so far found 111 bodies, and 155 people
have been pulled alive from the seas 1km (half-a-mile)
from the island in the Mediterranean.
Many bodies are expected to be found in the
shipwreck. The search was hampered on Friday by
rough seas.
The boat was carrying some 500 people - mostly from
Eritrea and Somalia.
The 20m (66ft) vessel began taking on water when its
motor stopped working as it neared Lampedusa on
Thursday morning, survivors said.
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.
The boat - which set sail from the Libyan port of
Misrata - is thought to have capsized when everyone
moved to one side.
Video footage later showed the vessel lying upright on
the seabed some 150ft (45m) below the surface.
'Savage world'
Divers are hoping to resume the search in the coming
hours, officials say.
"Though the bad sea conditions persist, our guys are
ready to go down if a window opens up that makes it
safe for them," coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini
told Reuters.
The operation had initially focused on off an area of
Lampedusa called Rabbit Island, but the search was
then widened beyond the initial radius of four nautical
miles in an effort to recover bodies that had been
swept away by tides.
The divers have been describing seeing horrific scenes
inside the wreckage.
Key migrant routes to southern Europe
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, the BBC's Alan Johnston
says.
A day of mourning was observed on Friday, with flags
flying at half-mast and a minute of silence held in all
Italian schools.
An evening mass and silent candlelit procession were
held on Lampedusa. Most residents of the island turned
out, the BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports from the scene.
People were sombre, but also angry that such tragedies
were happening all too often and so little was being
done to prevent them, he adds.
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".
He said he wanted to use abandoned Catholic
monasteries and convents to house refugees.
Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini - who wept at the
scene - 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."
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said: "This is not an
Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy. Lampedusa
has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the
frontier of Italy."
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.
The skipper of the boat, a 35-year-old Tunisian, has
been arrested. It has emerged that he was deported
from Italy in April.
Footage from Lampedusa showed bodies being laid out
on the dockside.
Mr Nicolini 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.
some of the migrants who survived the shipwreck.
But their boat lies at the bottom of the sea, along with
many bodies of those who did not survive the disaster.
The scale of the tragedy meant a hangar at
Lampedusa's airport has had to be turned into a
temporary mortuary and more coffins brought on to
the island.
Black ribbons in memory of those who died were tied
to banners during a mass by Pope Francis in front of St
Francis Basilica in Assisi.
Residents of Lampedusa held a candlelit procession
through the streets of the island. One banner read:
"Once again you didn't hear me crying."
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Antonio Guterres commended the swift action taken by
the Italian coastguard 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".
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 main nationalities of those arriving were Syrian
(7,500), Eritrean (7,500) and Somali (3,000).
bodies of more than 200 migrants, two days after
their boat sank off the Italian island of
Lampedusa.
Rescuers have so far found 111 bodies, and 155 people
have been pulled alive from the seas 1km (half-a-mile)
from the island in the Mediterranean.
Many bodies are expected to be found in the
shipwreck. The search was hampered on Friday by
rough seas.
The boat was carrying some 500 people - mostly from
Eritrea and Somalia.
The 20m (66ft) vessel began taking on water when its
motor stopped working as it neared Lampedusa on
Thursday morning, survivors said.
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.
The boat - which set sail from the Libyan port of
Misrata - is thought to have capsized when everyone
moved to one side.
Video footage later showed the vessel lying upright on
the seabed some 150ft (45m) below the surface.
'Savage world'
Divers are hoping to resume the search in the coming
hours, officials say.
"Though the bad sea conditions persist, our guys are
ready to go down if a window opens up that makes it
safe for them," coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini
told Reuters.
The operation had initially focused on off an area of
Lampedusa called Rabbit Island, but the search was
then widened beyond the initial radius of four nautical
miles in an effort to recover bodies that had been
swept away by tides.
The divers have been describing seeing horrific scenes
inside the wreckage.
Key migrant routes to southern Europe
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, the BBC's Alan Johnston
says.
A day of mourning was observed on Friday, with flags
flying at half-mast and a minute of silence held in all
Italian schools.
An evening mass and silent candlelit procession were
held on Lampedusa. Most residents of the island turned
out, the BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports from the scene.
People were sombre, but also angry that such tragedies
were happening all too often and so little was being
done to prevent them, he adds.
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".
He said he wanted to use abandoned Catholic
monasteries and convents to house refugees.
Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini - who wept at the
scene - 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."
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said: "This is not an
Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy. Lampedusa
has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the
frontier of Italy."
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.
The skipper of the boat, a 35-year-old Tunisian, has
been arrested. It has emerged that he was deported
from Italy in April.
Footage from Lampedusa showed bodies being laid out
on the dockside.
Mr Nicolini 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.
some of the migrants who survived the shipwreck.
But their boat lies at the bottom of the sea, along with
many bodies of those who did not survive the disaster.
The scale of the tragedy meant a hangar at
Lampedusa's airport has had to be turned into a
temporary mortuary and more coffins brought on to
the island.
Black ribbons in memory of those who died were tied
to banners during a mass by Pope Francis in front of St
Francis Basilica in Assisi.
Residents of Lampedusa held a candlelit procession
through the streets of the island. One banner read:
"Once again you didn't hear me crying."
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Antonio Guterres commended the swift action taken by
the Italian coastguard 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".
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 main nationalities of those arriving were Syrian
(7,500), Eritrean (7,500) and Somali (3,000).
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