ROME - More than two dozen African migrants trying to reach Italy from Libya died in the hold of a rickety boat so packed with people that the migrants could not get out as they struggled to breathe, Italian media and coast guard officials said Monday after the bodies were found below decks.
Hundreds of migrants fleeing unrest and conflict in Libya and across North Africa are believed to have died since the beginning of the year in desperate journeys across the Mediterranean.
The 50-foot (15-meter) boat was carrying 296 people, including women and children, said Coast Guard Capt. Antonio Morana.
The hold also served as an engine room, according to the ANSA news agency. As the air became unbreathable from exhaust fumes, migrants tried to exit but the boat was too packed for those standing above to move aside, ANSA said.
ANSA said they may have died from asphyxiation.
The officials found the corpses -- all young men -- after boarding the boat just a few miles off the island of Lampedusa, which is closer to North Africa than the Italian mainland.
The bodies were put in green bags and lined up on Lampedusa's deck, before being moved to an immigrant shelter on the island. Survivors were taken ashore and also moved to the immigrant shelter.
One photo posted on Italian newspapers showed the lifeless body of a man being pulled out of the boat by rescuers.
Morana said all the victims Monday were believed to be of sub-Saharan origin. According to the survivors, the boat had set sail from Libya two days ago, he said.
Dozens of the boats attempting the crossing to Italy are filled with sub-Saharan Africans who were working in Libya, then lost their jobs and feared for their lives as conflict erupted between Moammar Gadhafi and the rebels trying to oust him. In April, a boat believed to be carrying 300 migrants from Libya capsized, leaving 250 people presumed dead.
Separately, scuffles broke out in the southern city of Bari between immigrants held at a local centre and police, leaving scores injured. Footage on the RAI state broadcaster showed the immigrants occupying railway stations and hurling objects at police vans.
ANSA said the immigrants had been at the centre for several months and were protesting lack of progress in processing their requests for asylum
