Rome, July 9, (dpa/GNA) – The Italian coastguard has found several bodies in the Mediterranean Sea off the island of Lampedusa, where a boat carrying migrants capsized more than a week ago.
The public prosecutor’s office had ordered the search, the coastguard announced in the early hours of Friday. The sunken ship was found at a depth of about 90 metres. One body was discovered in the hull, another eight around the wreck.
The coastguard says it will continue the search in the coming days, weather conditions permitting.
On June 30, a boat carrying around 60 migrants capsized a few nautical miles off Lampedusa. Several people lost their lives. Rescuers said they recovered seven bodies from the water, and took a total of 46 boat migrants on board the patrol boats.
The small island of Lampedusa lies between Malta and Tunisia. Migrants often land there, sometimes in the hundreds, after departing from the coasts of Libya or Tunisia in the direction of Europe.
Private organizations also operate in the central Mediterranean, rescuing people from distress at sea.
The Ocean Viking operated by SOS Mediterranee has recently taken more than 570 people on board within a few days and waited for days for the allocation of a safe harbour. Late on Thursday, the Italian authorities assigned it the port of Augusta in Sicily.
GNA