Fifteen Tunisian migrants who were about to be repatriated to their country by Italy were surprised to be released last week after their repatriation flight developed a fault at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

Italian media said the migrants, who had been escorted to Rome from various parts of Italy, were instead handed a note telling them to leave the country.

"It would be funny if it were not that the immigration issue is so damn serious," Eugenio Bravo, secretary general of the Siulp Torino police union was quoted as saying.

He said 100 officers had been involved in escort duties which took more than 10 hours.

The migrants have since vanished 'into thin air'.

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