600 migrants land in Italy after Mediterranean sea rescues

Italian authorities said on Tuesday that a total of 648 migrants landed in Italy over the past several days following their sea rescue.

An Italian navy boat took 299 people to Pozzallo in south east Sicily and a merchant ship brought another 218 to the nearby city of Porto Empedocle.

Another merchant ship took 131 migrants to Brindisi in southern Italy.

Italian coast guard said some of the migrants were intercepted in Libyan waters, including the 94 people picked up on Monday and were expected to arrive in Trapani in western Sicily on Wednesday.

Italy is facing a record influx of migrants, fuelled by unrest in Syria, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.

According to an Oct. 2 count, 139,210 have landed there since the start of the year, compared to the no fewer than 43,000 that arrived in 2013



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