Italy: Illegal immigrants rescued by navy

Lampedusa, 5 August (AKI) - A vessel from the Italian navy saved 69 illegal immigrants, among them seven women, whose rubber dinghy suffered from engine failure on Tuesday, 50 miles off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The landing comes amid reports of over 290 landings by illegal immigrants since January 2008, carrying a total of over 12,500 people according to local authorities.

Only last week, around three thousand illegal immigrants arrived to the Italian coast, prompting authorities to move them from the tiny island's temporary holding centre to other centres in the mainland.

Lampedusa's mayor Bernardino De Rubeis also said last week that the island's centre was "near collapse" and urged the Vatican to open the doors of its convents and seminaries to host some of the illegal immigrants.

Italy and other the southern European countries are the preferred arrival points for the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who each year reach its shores.

Lampedusa is a tiny island that is closer to Africa than the European continent and a favourite drop off point for the people smugglers.
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