Italian coast guard recovers 7 bodies of migrants off island

Rome, Nov 24 (AP) Italian news reports say the coast guard has recovered the bodies of seven migrants near Lampedusa, an island south of Sicily. The coast guard, aided by border police boats, kept us a search Sunday of rough seas for as many as 13 other migrants feared missing after their boat capsized Saturday.

RAI state radio and the ANSA news agency, reporting from the Italian island, said seven bodies were carried ashore, including the body of a woman. Authorities said 149 migrants were rescued after the boat overturned. Survivors told authorities that 169 had been originally aboard.

The coast guard said a private citizen alerted it on Saturday that a boat was foundering. The vessel, tossed by three-meter-(10-feet)-high waves, then overturned. Migrants set out on unseaworthy boats launched by Libya-based human traffickers.

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