A report by BBC says hundreds of people are feared to have drowned after a boat carrying up to 700 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.
A major rescue operation is under way after the vessel, thought to be just 20m (70ft) long, capsized at midnight local time in Libyan waters south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
So far 28 people have been rescued and 24 bodies retrieved.
At least 900 other migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said the latest sinking could amount to the largest loss of life during a migrant crossing to Europe.
Italian naval and coastguard ships, the Maltese Navy and cargo vessels, along with three helicopters, are all involved in the rescue operation, 130 miles (210km) off the coast of Lampedusa and 17 miles (27km) from the Libyan coast.
The Italian coastguard’s spokesman told the BBC the operation was still focused on search and rescue, “but in time it will be a search [for bodies] only”.
The migrants reportedly fell overboard when they rushed to draw the attention of the passing Portuguese merchant ship King Jacob, causing their ship to capsize.
The Italian coastguard says the 28 survivors and 24 bodies are now on its vessel the Gregoretti.
