The migrant hotspot on the Italian island of Lampedusa remained under pressure early on Saturday after the arrival of 325 people overnight who had been saved by the Coast Guard from four boats.
A total of 1,677 people arrived on Italy’s southernmost island, which is often the destination boats carrying migrants and refugees from North Africa head for, in 40 landings on Friday.
These included a 10-metre wooden boat that had departed from Sabratha, Libya, carrying 144 people from Eritrea, Ghana, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, and another boat that came from Zuwarah with 92 men from Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
They new arrivals were taken to Lampedusa’s migrant hotspot, taking the number of residents there up to 2,355, while the official capacity is around 400