Italy migrant shipwreck: Bad weather halts recovery efforts

Fishing boat captain Calosero Spalma, wearing white, throws a wreath into the sea to pay tribute to the victims of Thursday's migrant shipwreck off the coast of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday.

Authorities say the search to recover bodies from a fishing boat that sank off the southern island of Lampedusa has been called off for a second day because of bad weather.

Financial police Maj. Leonardo Ricci said on Saturday that choppy seas are preventing divers from reaching the wreck, now resting on the seabed. More than 200 people are still missing.

The 20-metre boat packed with migrants sank on Thursday when their ship capsized after they started a fire to attract attention. The migrants had spent two days at sea travelling from Libya. Just 155 people survived. So far, 111 bodies have been recovered.

Early on Saturday, a fishing boat flotilla threw a single bouquet of yellow flowers into the sea at the site.