(VOVworld) – A vessel with 140 people on board capsized Thursday just a few hours after setting off from Libya, leaving only 29 survivors.

Migrants on an Italian Red Cross' rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea (photo: AP/VNA)

More than 100 are missing and feared drowned. The Norwegian rescue ship Siem Pilot was first on the scene to rescue survivors and recovered 12 bodies. Those pulled to safety were transferred to the island of Lampedusa by the Italian coast guard.