Migrants found dead in boat hold
Twenty-five would-be migrants have been found dead in the hold of a boat crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to the small Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian Coast Guard said today.
Officials said the bodies were discovered as guards boarded the boat a few miles off Lampedusa, which is closer to North Africa than the Italian mainland.
The 50ft (15m) boat was carrying almost 300 people.
Captain Antonio Morana, of Lampedusa Coast Guard, said the victims were all men, believed to be of Sub-Saharan origin.
He said that, according to survivors, the boat had set sail from Libya two days ago.
