A Lebanese submarine found the remains of at least 10 migrants who drowned when their boat sank earlier this year off the coast of Lebanon carrying about 30 people, the navy announced on Friday.

The boat, carrying dozens of Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian people trying to migrate by sea to Italy, sank more than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the port of Tripoli after a confrontation with the Lebanese navy. Ten bodies were recovered that night, including the body of a child, while 48 survivors were rescued.

Since Monday, the small vehicle, consisting of 3 people – the Pisces VI submarine – has been searching for the remains. The wreck was located on Wednesday at a depth of about 450 meters (about 1470 feet).

The circumstances of the shipwreck remain disputed to this day. Survivors say the Lebanese navy rammed their ship, while the army claims that the migrant boat collided with a navy ship while attempting to escape.

Captain Scott Waters, who operates the vehicle, told reporters at a press conference in Tripoli on Friday that the first body they found was outside the wreck but many had decayed since the sinking, with mostly parts of clothing remaining and some bones intact. Waters said the crew identified four other bodies inside the wreck.

Tom Zreika, of Lebanese origin and head of the Australian charity AusRelief that helped bring the submarine to Lebanon, said the boat was "reasonably muddy," making it difficult to extract.

The Tripoli MP, Ashraf Rifi, helped rent the submarine for financially troubled Lebanon through Zreika and his brother Jamal Rifi, who lives in Sydney. Rifi and Zreika told the Sydney Morning Herald last month that an anonymous donor provided just over $295,000 to rent the submarine.