DOZENS of people are missing and one body has been recovered after a migrant boat sank off a small Mediterranean island near Italy.
Italian and Nato crews rescued 56 people, all of whom are believed to be Tunisian.
They were rescued from the sea as well as on the uninhabited islet of Lampione, west of Italy's Lampedusa island, the frequent destination of smugglers' boats leaving north Africa.
Passengers said more than 100 people had been on board the boat, reported to have been an old, 10m (33ft) wooden vessel, of which there was no trace.
Tens of thousands of migrants head to Italian shores each year. Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland.
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