At least 14 dead as boat capsizes off Sicily

AT LEAST 14 people died yesterday when a boat loaded with illegal immigrants from Liberia for capsized off the southern coast of Sicily, coastguard officials said.

Police sources said there might be more bodies inside the wreckage of the sunken 10-meter (33 feet) vessel, but divers were forced to suspend rescue efforts yesterday afternoon due to heavy seas and zero visibility.

“We'll try to get down again later, but it depends on the weather,” said a spokesman for the coastguard in Porto Empedocle, near the town of Agrigento. “We hope to lift the wreckage tomorrow and bring it ashore.”

Earlier rescuers pulled fourteen bodies from the wreckage and the surrounding waters, dragging them ashore to be placed in a line of wooden coffins. The victims comprised nine men and five women, one of whom was estimated to be 15 years old.

The small white, red and blue fishing boat, overloaded with an estimated 130 passengers, sank in shallow waters about 200 meters (650 ft) from shore in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Survivors said that while the boat had arrived in relatively calm seas, the captain had waited for a storm to pass overhead before coming closer to shore. But the storm proved more violent than expected, with heavy waves helping to capsize the boat.

“We waited in front of the beach for about an hour to see if the storm would pass, said one survivor who would not give his name.

“Then the waves and the wind pushed us up against some rocks, and then the boat's engine caught fire.”

Several passengers swam ashore, while a total of 92 were rescued from the water by boats or helicopters, police said.

All of those aboard were from Liberia in West Africa, apart from the captain, an Egyptian who police believe was responsible for organising the smuggling operation.

It was unclear how long the boat had been at sea. The Liberians said they left their country in a much sturdier ship some two weeks ago and were transferred to the smaller fishing vessel once they were near to Italy.

The Egyptian said he originally set sail from Libya.

Italian magistrates opened an investigation into the deaths and Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said he was sending a team of experts to Agrigento to help manage the situation.