Originally published on October 8, 2013

Lampedusa migrant boat sinking: Italian rescue divers have recovered several dozen more bodies from the submerged migrant boat which sank within sight of the Italian island Lampedusa last week.

Small teams of rescue divers working shifts in 47-meter deep water to retrieve bodies from the sunken vessel reported pulling corpses from a tightly "packed wall of bodies" after entering the hull on Monday.

More than 300 people are thought to have drowned after the overcrowded boat caught fire and capsized about one kilometre from the Sicilian island.

Reuters reports: "Search teams on Monday pulled 38 more bodies from the wreck ... bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 232.

"'Some we have found with their arms outstretched. We try not to notice this kind of thing too much, otherwise the task is too difficult," said police diver Riccardo Nobile. 'We can see a woman's hair floating out of a broken porthole. But we haven't been able to get to her.'

"The divers are only able to remain at the sea bed for a few minutes at a time and the work has been slow. All the bodies from around the ship and on deck have now been recovered, police say, leaving dozens still inside the vessel.

"'I'm sure that the most difficult part of the operation is starting now,' said Coast Guard diver Rocco Pilon. 'Technically it will be much more challenging.'

"Officials said stormy conditions were expected overnight, but authorities still hope to continue the search on Tuesday.

--------------------------------------------------------

TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.

For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS

Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS

Stay connected wi