Divers hope to resume searching for bodies as Lampedusa residents remember the 300 African migrants who perished when their boat sank off the Italian island. 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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