DHAKA: An estimated 500 passengers on a boat that sank off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Thursday were all believed to be Eritreans coming from Libya.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration said, reports The Straits Times.

The boat caught fire half a mile from the coast, UNHCR said.

The local mayor said earlier that 82 dead bodies had been recovered, and officials said many people were still missing.

BDST: 1709 HRS, OCT 03, 2013
RoR/JCK