Rescue authorities found the bodies of seven migrants, including five women, after their boat capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa, coastguard officials said on Sunday.
A patrol boat recovered the bodies of three of the women and customs workers found two more washed ashore after a vessel with some 150 people aboard went down Saturday, the coastguard said. Another two bodies were found Saturday on the beach at Cala Galera on the south side of the island.
Survivors had said late on Saturday that around 20 people were missing after coast guards reported rescuing nearly 150 migrants when their vessel overturned around 1.5 miles (1.8 kilometres) off the coast.
The coastguard said rescue operations had been complicated by rough seas "but also owing to the large number of people who fell into the water simultaneously".