¡¡¡¡COLOMBO, February 3 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 50 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants feared dead or missing when a trawler carrying some 150youths heading for Italy capsized on Sunday in the sea off Matara,about 160 kilometers south of capital Colombo, local police said.

¡¡¡¡The trawler which started midnight Saturday from Negombo near the country's only international airport, some 30 kilometers northof Colombo, collided against a rock in the sea and capsized early Sunday due to heavy rain.

¡¡¡¡Police said that 10 bodies have been recovered and 12 survivors have been brought to Matara hospital.

¡¡¡¡Rescue operation is underway. Some of them might have swum to the shore and escaped, police said.

¡¡¡¡The illegal immigrants have paid huge sums of money in an attempt to be smuggled out for employment in Italy.

¡¡¡¡During the past several months, police had arrested over 350 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants who boarded trawlers heading for Italy. Enditem

¡¡¡¡