Fatal sinking prompts search patrol proposal

The move has been prompted by the deaths of at least 250 migrants after their boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Officials said the operation would cover the whole of the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus to Spain. The search and rescue patrols would help better tracking, identification and rescue of boats, they said.

Italian divers yesterday recovered more bodies from the wreck.

Coast guard commander Filippo Marini said 18 bodies were recovered from within the ship’s hold, while one was spotted by a helicopter floating near the wreck.

Mr Marini said the search would continue as long as the weather allows. Just 155 migrants, most if not all from Eritrea, survived last Thursday’s shipwreck.

Survivors said there were about 500 people on board when the ship capsized and sank in sight of land.

A disproportionate number of the dead are women – so far the bodies of 75 women have been recovered, while only six survivors were female. Seven of the dead are children.

The Tunisan man, who it is claimed is the skipper of the boat, is being held in Sicily, suspected of manslaughter.