Italian authorities try to identify Lampedusa capsize victims

Lampedusa, Italy: Italian authorities on Friday sought to identify the bodies of 27 people who died when two crowded boats sank off the Mediterranean...

Lampedusa, Italy: Italian authorities on Friday sought to identify the bodies of 27 people who died when two crowded boats sank off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.

One wooden coffin, marked with an "X", could be seen at the local cemetery, where the bodies of some of the victims were being held, an AFP journalist said.

Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia, is often the first point of arrival for people trying to reach Europe in fragile or overcrowded boats.

Its reception centre is currently home to 317 people, including about 70 mostly unaccompanied minors, said Giovanna Stabile, from the Italian Red Cross which runs the facility.

Most of them come from Egypt, Somalia and Bangladesh, she added.