LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) -At least 26 people died in a migrant shipwreck on Wednesday off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa and 60 survivors were brought ashore, the coastguard said, warning more bodies could be missing as search operations continue.

Sixty people survived after two boats with nearly 100 migrants capsized. The causes of the shipwrecks were not clear, Italian officials and U.N. agencies said. The death toll is likely to grow.

Italian authorities searched Thursday for migrants missing at sea after two crowded boats sank off the island of Lampedusa, killing at least 27 people.