- More than 200 people are missing after the boat sank off Lampedusa
- 150 people had been rescued by midday
- A toddler and pregnant woman are among the dead
By JILL REILLY
A ship carrying migrants from Africa to a new life in Europe caught fire and capsized off of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea.
More than 90 bodies have been recovered and 200 more were still missing by midday.
It was one of the deadliest accidents in recent times during the notoriously perilous crossing.
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Horrifying: Dozens of African migrants have died and more than 200 are missing after their ship caught fire and capsized off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea
Tragic: Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up in the port of Lampedusa this morning
In an indication of the scale of the unfolding tragedy, Italy's Interior Minister Angelino Alfano cancelled his appointments and headed to Lampedusa to oversee the rescue operations first-hand.
Pope Francis, who visited Lampedusa in July, quickly sent his condolences.
'It's an immense tragedy,' said Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini, adding that the dead included at least one child of about three years old and a pregnant woman.
The migrants were from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, the Coast Guard said.
Origin: The migrants were from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, the coast guard said
Difficult: It is one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent times and the second one this week off Italy
Antonio Candela, the government's health commissioner for Palermo, said search and rescue operations were continuing, LaPresse news agency reported.
The boat is believed to have been carrying as many as 500 people, he added.
Coast Guard ships and helicopters from across the region, as well as local fishing boats were trying to find survivors, said Coast Guard spokesman Marco Di Milla.
Desperate: Mayor Nicolini said the ship had caught fire after those on board set off flares so it would be seen by passing ships
Hunt: Coast guard ships and helicopters from across the region, as well as local fishing boats were on the scene trying to find survivors, said Coast Guard spokesman Marco Di Milla
Shocked: Some of the immigrants after their rescue early this morning
Mayor Giusi Nicolini said the ship had caught fire after those on board set off flares so it would be seen by passing ships.
The ship apparently then capsized, spilling the passengers into the sea near Conigli island.
It was one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent times and the second one this week off Italy:
On Monday, 13 men drowned while trying to reach southern Sicily when their ship ran aground just a few yards from shore.
Victims: 13 immigrants drowned off the coast of Sicily after their boat ran aground on Monday
Horror: Rescuers pause to pay their respects to the 13 victims of the tragedy
Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is the frequent destination for smugglers' boats.
Hundreds of migrants reach the shores every day, particularly during summer months when seas are usually calmer.
They are processed in centres, screened for asylum and often sent back home.
Those who are not returned home often make their way to northern Europe. In Italy, migrants can only work legally if they have a permit and contract before their arrival.
According to the United Nations, some 8,400 migrants landed in Italy and Malta in the first six months of the year.
Still, that is a far cry from the tens of thousands who fled to Italy during the Arab Spring exodus of 2011.
The numbers have spiked in recent weeks, particularly with Syrian arrivals.
Fortress Europe, an Italian observatory that tracks migrant deaths reported by the media, says about 6,450 people died in the Canal of Sicily between 1994 and 2012.
THE DESPERATE JOURNEY TO ITALY
Sicily and the surrounding islands are hotspots for illegal immigrants arriving by sea from Tunisia, Libya and sub-Sahara Africa hoping for a better quality of life.
A growing number of Syrian immigrants have fled to the region hoping for protection from their civil war.
In August, six migrants died after they jumped out of a boat off the coast of Sicily.
In July, seven drowned after they tried to hold onto a fishing cage which was being towed to shore off the coast of Sicily.
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