A crowded boat filled with migrants capsized in wind-whipped seas near a tiny Mediterranean island Saturday, sending them tumbling into the water, said the Italian coast guard, which pulled 149 of them to safety. There were fears at least two people or perhaps many more were missing.
The coast guard said the rescue, before sunset, involving four of its motorboats and two of its specialized rescue divers took place about 1 nautical mile from the beach of Isola di Conigli, an uninhabited islet a few dozen meters (yards) from Lampedusa, an Italian island south of Sicily.
It said those rescued, who included three children and 13 women, were brought to the port of Lampedusa.