(ANSAmed) - PALERMO, AUGust 20 - Close to 400 immigrants
landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa Sunday, reversing a
trend which has seen the amount of arrivals decreasing over
recent months.
The immigrants, thought to be of sub-saharan descent, were
picked up in wooden boats during separate landings.
The first, with 231 people aboard, including a pregnant woman
and four children, was intercepted around 30 miles off the coast
of island. A second, carrying 126 people was picked up Sunday
afternoon. Almost all of them are Tunisian.
It is thought that they will be housed in the island's 350
capacity detention centre, which last September burned down
following rioting by immigrants.
Local harbour officials are said to be concerned about the possibility of a reprisal of the mass immigrant landings on the island in 2011. (ANSAmed).
Local harbour officials are said to be concerned about the possibility of a reprisal of the mass immigrant landings on the island in 2011. (ANSAmed).
