Scores of migrants were feared dead after a boat thought to be carrying 200 people capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa today.
Rescuers picked up 47 people, but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for Italian coast guard ships and a police helicopter to operate.
Media reports said some 15 bodies have been spotted in the water so far.
Thousands of illegal immigrants from North Africa have arrived in Lampedusa, some 150 kilometers from the Tunisian coast, since a wave of antigovernment uprisings began in Arab countries in January.
compiled from agency reports
Rescuers picked up 47 people, but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for Italian coast guard ships and a police helicopter to operate.
Media reports said some 15 bodies have been spotted in the water so far.
Thousands of illegal immigrants from North Africa have arrived in Lampedusa, some 150 kilometers from the Tunisian coast, since a wave of antigovernment uprisings began in Arab countries in January.
compiled from agency reports