Silvestro Greco, the head of Calabria's environment agency, said the ships could contain dangerous toxins

A former member of the criminal organisation says the vessel and its cargo were blown up in a lucrative radioactive disposal scheme and that the ship contained "nuclear" material.

Investigators have obtained pictures from a robot submarine with a video camera taken at the scene and are now examining samples taken from the wreck.

The Cunsky ship may be one of 32 vessels with toxic material on the Italian seabed, prosecutors said.

Mafia informant

Officials said Francesco Fonti, a former member of Calabria's 'Ndrangheta crime group, had disclosed the location of the ship to authorities.

Fonti said he used explosives to sink the vessel, along with two others.

Silvestro Greco, the head of Calabria's environment agency, said: "If the turncoat who admits sinking this ship also says that he personally has sunk another two ships, even without taking into account other investigations that suggest more than 20 ships were sunk, the government must find these other two ships."

Sebastiano Venneri, vice president of the environmental group Legambiente, said former members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia have said that the crime syndicate had been paid to sink ships with radioactive material for the last 20 years.

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