Two boats with 130 Somalis and Eritreans were intercepted in Italian waters last night, their destination being Malta, Italian media has reported.

The Italian media said that when navy officials became aware of the presence of immigrants in their territory, they helped them to the port of Pozzallo.

The migrants, who were on a dinghy, included two babies and eight children. There were 42 women, two of them in the late stages of pregnancy and 80 men. The pregnant women were transported to a hospital in Modica as a precaution but have since discharged.

The Italian media said the immigrants who did not qualify for asylum will be repatriated while those who did will be located in refugee reception centres in Sicily.