Italy declares day of mourning for up to 300 drowned African migrants after their boat capsized off island of Lampedusa

Up to 300 African migrants are now feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Italy.
The country is holding a day of national mourning after the vessel caught fire and sank just south of Lampedusa yesterday. 
At least 103 bodies have been pulled from the water so far - with another 200 people reported missing.
Two pregnant women and three children - including a three-year-old boy and two-year-old girl - are among the victims.
Witnesses described 'a cemetery in the sea' as scores of lifeless bodies floated in waters off the Mediterranean island.
The coastguard said that of more than 500 people believed to be on board the 20-metre (66ft) boat, 159 had been rescued.
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Horrifying: Up to 300 African migrants are feared dead after their ship caught fire and capsized off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea. Above, Italian rescue workers pull a dead body from the water

Recovery: Italy is holding a day of national mourning after the vessel caught fire and sank just south of Lampedusa yesterday

Fatal: At least 103 bodies have been pulled from the water so far - with another 200 people reported missing

Bodies: Bags containing the bodies of the drowned African migrants lie in a hangar at Lampedusa airport

Victims: Witnesses described the scene as 'a cemetery in the sea' as scores of lifeless bodies floated in waters off the Mediterranean island

Origin: The migrants were from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, the coast guard said

Only three of about 100 women on board were pulled from the water, and no children have been saved so far.
The disaster occurred when the boat's motor stopped working and the vessel began to take on water, Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said. 

People on board burned a sheet to attract the attention of rescuers, starting a fire on board.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Italian divers had seen at least another 20 bodies around a migrant boat on the sea floor, raising the death toll to at least 114 people.
However, that figure could rise to as many as 300 people, according to the BBC.

Difficult: It is one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent times and the second one this week off Italy

Tragic: Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up in the port of Lampedusa this morning

Rising death toll: Military personnel bring bodies to the back of a waiting ambulance after they were pulled out of the Mediterranean

One woman, who was initially thought to be dead, was revived by medical personnel after she was brought back to the port.
Today, a rescue agency worker told BBC Radio 4 that the team did not expect to pull any more survivors from the water.
She added that many survivors had been coming off the rescue boats naked, looking shell-shocked at what they had seen.
Yesterday, Coastguard Commander Floriana Segreto said: 'Divers of the coastguard have found the boat on the sea floor at a depth of 40 metres (130ft). ... The divers have yet to go inside the boat.'
She added that they are waiting for the weather to improve and would then start recovering more bodies.

Rescue operation: Emergency workers continue to add body bags to those already lined up on the harbour

Emergency situation: A coastguard vessel heads away from the harbour after unloading body bags containing African migrants who drowned in the tragedy

Soldiers from the Italian Army unload bodies on to the harbour today

'Once the fire started, there was a concern about the boat sinking and everyone moved to one side, causing the boat to go down,' she told a news conference.
The vessel sank no more than 1km (half a mile) from shore.
Bodies fished from the water were laid out along the quayside as the death toll rose in what looked like one of the worst disasters to hit the perilous route for migrants seeking to reach Europe from Africa.
'It's horrific, like a cemetery, they are still bringing them out,' Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini told reporters yesterday.
Alfano said three children and two pregnant women were among the victims.

Statement: Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano said the incident was a 'European drama, not an Italian drama'

Dangerous: Migrants frequently land on Lampedusa, just 113 km (70 miles) from the coast of Tunisia, often picked up at sea in dangerously overcrowded boats by the Italian coastguard

Traumatised: A man is helped off the boat following the rescue

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