Boat believed to be carrying migrants sinks off Sicily

A boat believed to be carrying around 250 migrants sank today between Malta and Sicily, officials said, a week after a shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa killed more than 300 refugees.
"The latest information we have is that the boat, which had around 200 immigrants aboard, overturned," a Maltese navy spokesman told AFP, saying rescue boats and helicopters had been sent to the site around 130 kilometres north of Malta.
"The operation is in progress. The navigational conditions are difficult, with strong wind," he added.
An Italian coast guard commander confirmed the incident.
"It was a shipwreck in Maltese territorial waters. We are helping the authorities from Malta. We do not know yet if there are any deaths," Filippo Marini told AFP.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that bodies had been spotted around the wrecked ship, but that dozens of survivors had been rescued and placed on an Italian navy ship.