Around 270 migrants were feared missing at sea Thursday after the vessel on which they left Libya was caught in rough weather between Tunisian and Sicily, Italian media said quoting Tunisian reports.
It was not immediately clear if the missing migrants were part of a group of around 700, many of whom were rescued by the Tunisian coastguard on Wednesday near the island of Kerkennah off Tunisia, the reports said.
In recent months, thousands of migrants fleeing the conflict in Libya have crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Italy, mainly on the tiny island of Lampedusa, DPA reported.