Italian coast guard recovers seven bodies of migrants off island

Authorities said 149 migrants were rescued after the boat overturned.

Rescue workers bring bodies to shore after a migrant boat capsized off the Italian coast, on the island of Lampedusa, Italy on November 24, 2019.

Italian news reports say the coast guard has recovered the bodies of seven migrants near Lampedusa, an island south of Sicily.

The coast guard, aided by border police boats, kept us a search on November 24 of rough seas for as many as 13 other migrants feared missing after their boat capsized on November 23.

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Italian coast guard rescues 149 migrants from capsized boat

 

RAI state radio and the ANSA news agency, reporting from the Italian island, said seven bodies were carried ashore, including the body of a woman.

Authorities said 149 migrants were rescued after the boat overturned. Survivors told authorities that 169 had been originally aboard.

The coast guard said a private citizen alerted it on November 23 that a boat was foundering. The vessel, tossed by three-meter-(10-feet)-high waves, then overturned.

Migrants set out on unseaworthy boats launched by Libya-based human traffickers.