Hundreds of migrants reach Italian isle; 20 reported missing

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Hundreds of migrants have arrived over a 24-hour period on a tiny Italian island. Dozens of the passengers  sat Monday morning near Lampedusa’s port awaiting transfer to a shelter or eventually to Sicily or the mainland. The Italian news agency ANSA said a fishing boat off Lampedusa aided a distressed migrant boat that contained 34 survivors and a body. Survivors reportedly told rescuers that some 20 fellow passengers were missing from the boat that had set out from Tunisia. ANSA said 640 migrants reached Lampedusa on Sunday, while 179 migrants stepped ashore from four boats early Monday. Rough seas last week had discouraged launchings of the smugglers’ boats from northern Africa.