Hundreds feared dead as refugee boat capsizes

ROME – Italy yesterday mourned the 300 African asylum-seekers feared dead in the worst ever Mediterranean refugee disaster, as the government asked Europe to help stem the influx of migrants.

As the grim search for bodies off the island of Lampedusa continued, an emotional Pope Francis said yesterday should have been “a day of tears” for a “savage world” that ignored the plight of refugees.

Emergency services on the remote island – Italy’s southernmost point – said they had recovered 111 bodies so far and rescued 155 survivors from a boat with an estimated 450 to 500 people on board.

“Divers have seen dozens more bodies in the wreck. There could be even more in the hold, where the poorest of the poor are usually put,” Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told parliament. He said the search was being complicated by worsening weather conditions.

“After these deaths, we are expecting something to change. Things cannot stay the same,” Lampedusa mayor Giusi Nicolini said.

The migrants, all Eritreans or Somalis, had departed from the Libyan port of Misrata and had set fire to a blanket on board to attract the attention of coast guards after their boat began taking on water.

The fire quickly spread on the badly overcrowded vessel, which capsized and eventually sank in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Survivors, including 40 minors and three women, were being treated in a local hospital.