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Illegal Immigrants Disembark in Italy
A ship carrying 600 illegal immigrants, mostly Kurds, has been allowed to disembark in the southern Italian port of Gallipoli.
The immigrants, some of whom are Iranians and Sri Lankans, are reported to have paid about $2,000 each for their passage from Turkey.
Police said the crew appeared to have abandoned the ship or mingled with passengers to escape detection.
The immigrants, including 200 children and five pregnant women, were taken to emergency reception centres.
The unregistered ship was left adrift about five miles off the port of Gallipoli on Saturday night, when some of those on board reportedly contacted authorities by mobile phone.
Thousands of illegal immigrants try to enter Italy each month, but they usually come in much smaller craft.
This is one of the largest groups to have reached Italy's shores.
The Iranians and the Sri Lankans are expected to be sent back but the future of the Kurds is still unknown.
Last November, 877 refugees, mostly Kurds, arrived at the Italian port of Taranto aboard a Ukrainian vessel which had sailed from Istanbul, a month after nearly 500 people arrived in the southern Italian port, also from Turkey.
Initial reports suggest that the latest boatload also came from Turkey.
The Italian incident comes less than two months after a ship containing 900 Kurdish migrants was abandoned off the French Riviera, renewing Europe's debate about how to deal with the problem of people trafficking.
Smugglers can collect thousands of dollars per person to bring would-be immigrants to western Europe from Asia, eastern Europe and north Africa.
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