Italian rescue authorities on Sunday recovered bodies of five migrants, including three women, after their boat capsized off the coast of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, country's coast guard said.
Three bodies were found at sea by a coast guard ship, while two others were discovered ashore by the Italian financial guard. Their boat had capsized on Saturday, following which as many as 149 migrants were rescued by the coast guard, about 1.6 kilometres from Lampedusa, while 20 still remain missing, Sputnik reported.
Italy is one of the main entry points to Europe for thousands of migrants from the Middle East and North African countries, who risk their lives by undertaking dangerous sea travels on overcrowded rubber boats to escape the turmoil of their own countries.