Illegal immigrants die in sea off Sicily

Eight illegal immigrants were found dead in waters south of Sicily yesterday after their boat capsized. An Italian coastguard spokesman said the bodies had been sighted by a plane around 108 kilometres south of Lampedusa, an Italian island between...

Eight illegal immigrants were found dead in waters south of Sicily yesterday after their boat capsized.

An Italian coastguard spokesman said the bodies had been sighted by a plane around 108 kilometres south of Lampedusa, an Italian island between Sicily and Libya which is a common destination for African immigrants.

"We can't tell where they come from or who they are," the spokesman said.

The hazardous boat journeys from north Africa to the southern borders of the European Union have increased in recent weeks due to fine weather and calm seas.

On Thursday, 324 illegal immigrants reached Lampedusa.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.