Lampedusa boat disaster: Divers hope to resume search

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.

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