Migrants swamp Italian island

Efforts to control immigration in Italy are a hot political issue

Almost 500 illegal immigrants, mostly thought to be from Africa, arrived on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on one boat this weekend.

Officials said 478 migrants were on the 25-metre long boat, making it the largest single arrival this year.

The weekend saw another boatload of about 190 reach Lampedusa, while a third group of 100 reached Sicily.

Migrants heading for the EU illegally often end up on Lampedusa, which is nearer Tunisia than mainland Italy.

Exhausted

During the summer, thousands of immigrants hoping to find jobs and prosperity in Europe are dumped on Italy's southern shores by smugglers.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost Mediterranean outpost, is the easiest point of arrival for the smugglers, who are now operating out of Libya as well as Tunisia and Morocco.

The authorities on Lampedusa say their very limited facilities for offering food and shelter to so many exhausted people are being swamped by the latest arrivals.

Escorted by police, they are being taken by chartered ferry or by air to reception centres in Sicily and the mainland for identification and medical checks, our correspondent says.

Nearly two weeks ago, a 15-metre long wooden boat with some 240 migrants docked at the tiny fishing port of Lampedusa after being intercepted by the Italian navy - the previous arrival record.

An unknown number drown or die aboard the boats while attempting to cross to Europe every year.