- ROME: The Italian Coast Guard says the bodies of 25 would-be migrants have been found in the hold of a boat crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to the small Italian island of Lampedusa.
The officials said Monday the corpses were found as the guard boarded the boat a few miles off Lampedusa, which is closer to North Africa than the Italian mainland. The 15-meter (50-foot) boat was carrying almost 300 people.
Capt. Antonio Morana of Lampedusa Coast Guard said the victims were all men, believed to be of Sub-Saharan origin. He said that — according to the survivors — the boat had set sail from Libya two days ago.