78 people killed after migrant ship sinks off Sicily

Rome: At least 78 people died when a ship carrying African migrants toward Italy caught fire and sank off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea, said officials.

Antonio Candela, the government's health commissioner for Palermo, is quoted by LaPresse news agency as saying 159 people have been rescued but that the boat is believed to have been carrying some 500 people, meaning around 250 are still unaccounted-for.

In an indication of the scale of the unfolding tragedy, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano canceled his appointments Thursday and headed to Lampedusa to oversee the rescue operations first-hand, reports said. Pope Francis, who visited Lampedusa in July, quickly sent his condolences.