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A Syrian migrant boat ran aground in Sicily, at least six dead

 

Six migrants drowned and more than a hundred, apparently coming from Syria, were rescued Saturday upon arrival on a beach near Catania, Sicily, said the captaincy of this port and Sicilian police and carabinieri still there.

"The bodies were reported by employees of a bathing establishment" to Plaia di Catania, near the great Sicilian town, told AFP an official of the harbor master, stating that the discovery took place at dawn.

According to investigators, the boat carrying about 120 migrants, including women and children at a very young age.

"We are in the process of transferring passengers from the small fishing boat where they were. We assume that they are all Syrians, "the official added contacted by AFP, which could not say in what port immigrants were initially shipped.

Divers explore the area around the fishing boat to see if there would be no more victims.

According to Italian media, the six migrants died could not swim and drowned trying to reach the shore when the fishing boat they were traveling in was stuck in the sand 15 meters from shore. They were carried in the bottom of a sort of channel depth of several meters.

Another group of one hundred immigrants, mostly Syrian families, was rescued in the night from Wednesday to Thursday off the coast of Calabria, the toe of the Italian boot.

These immigrants had left two weeks ago to Syria and after changing boat several times, had been abandoned on a small boat 11 meters adrift .

Taking advantage of calm seas, arrivals of illegal immigrants have intensified in recent days.

Many shipwrecks occur, boats are old and overloaded, and the smugglers abandoned their passengers when they are identified by the Italian and Maltese coast guard.

AFP