Nineteen migrants on a boat carrying hundreds of passengers have died while trying to reach Italian shores, the ANSA news agency said Saturday.
The vessel, which departed from Libya, launched a distress signal that was picked up by a passing cargo ship some 80 nautical miles (150 kilometres) south of Lampedusa, an Italian island half way between Sicily and North Africa.
Eighteen people were found dead in the ship's hold, presumably suffocated by engine fumes. Another migrant died during rescue operations, while two were airlifted in critical condition to hospitals in Palermo, in mainland Sicily.
The Italian Navy said 3,510 migrants have been intercepted on boats in the past week.
Italy is facing a record inflow of migrants this year. Rome has said it cannot face the task alone, demanding that the European Union's border agency, Frontex, take over responsibility for rescuing migrants arriving by sea.