![An Italian Coast Guard boat carries rescued migrants into the port of Lampedusa on Thursday, October 3. According to the nation's coast guard, a boat carrying as many as 500 people capsized and caught fire off the Italian island of Lampedusa.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115734-01-italy-shipwreck.jpg?q=w_2000,h_1493,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
An Italian Coast Guard boat carries rescued migrants into the port of Lampedusa on Thursday, October 3. According to the nation's coast guard, a boat carrying as many as 500 people capsized and caught fire off the Italian island of Lampedusa.
![Italian police and rescue workers stand next to the covered bodies of migrants at the port of Lampedusa on October 3.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115740-02-italy-shipwreck.jpg?q=w_3167,h_2097,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
Italian police and rescue workers stand next to the covered bodies of migrants at the port of Lampedusa on October 3.
![A boat used to transport migrants is docked at Lampedusa Island on October 3. The island is a major destination for refugees seeking to enter European Union countries.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115746-03-italy-shipwreck-restricted.jpg?q=w_3071,h_1859,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
A boat used to transport migrants is docked at Lampedusa Island on October 3. The island is a major destination for refugees seeking to enter European Union countries.
![Firefighters unload the body of a drowned migrant from a coast guard boat in the port of Lampedusa on October 3.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115752-04-italy-shipwreck.jpg?q=w_2025,h_1538,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
Firefighters unload the body of a drowned migrant from a coast guard boat in the port of Lampedusa on October 3.
![Migrants' belongings are scattered across the deck of a ship on October 3.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115758-05-italy-shipwreck-restricted.jpg?q=w_3000,h_2094,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
Migrants' belongings are scattered across the deck of a ship on October 3.
![Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up at the port of Lampedusa on October 3.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/131003115804-06-italy-shipwreck.jpg?q=w_2592,h_1936,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island —
Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up at the port of Lampedusa on October 3.