Nearly 500 illegal immigrants land on island
Nearly 500 illegal immigrants landed on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa today, port authorities said.
Around 470 people arrived at dawn on a fishing boat, the coast guard in Palermo, Sicily, said.
The immigrants, whose nationality and point of departure was still being investigated, were taken to a holding centre in Lampedusa, a tiny island closer to northern Africa than to the Italian mainland.
In a separate arrival, a boat carrying some 25 people was spotted in rough weather and aided to shore, the coast guard said.
Thousands of illegal immigrants attempt to reach Italy’s coastline every year, mainly from North Africa.
They are taken to immigrant centres while their identities and papers are checked.
Many of those who elude checks make their way to other European countries.
The ANSA news agency said there were about 650 immigrants currently held in the Lampedusa centre, which is designed to hold about 190 people.
