Boat packed with 163 illegal immigrants towed into Pozzallo harbour

A motor boat with 163 illegal immigrants on board, including women and children, were towed into Pozzallo harbour in Sicily during the night between Friday and Saturday, Italian media reported yesterday.

The 14-metre long boat was sighted about 30 miles off the Ragusa coast and towed into Pozzallo by two private tugs requisitioned by the port authorities.

According to the newspaper La Sicilia, the boat, an old vessel with an improvised cover appeared to be creaking under the weight of its human cargo.

The immigrants hailed from various countries including Sudan, Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

It was not clear how long the immigrants had been at sea, but it seemed the boat had left Malta in the early afternoon on Friday, La Sicilia reported.

On Friday, the Armed Forces of Malta said in a statement that it had been informed by a Maltese fishing vessel that a boat presumably full of illegal immigrants was seen sailing outside Maltese territorial waters.

An AFM Alouette helicopter was dispatched to confirm the information and the boat was located about 16 nautical miles south west of Malta.

Later in the day patrol boats went on site.

The AFM said that the boat, with over 100 persons on board, was last seen heading north and was about nine miles south west of Malta.

The illegal immigrants, consisting of 116 men, 25 women and 26 children, were met at Pozzallo by the police, members of the Red Cross and a fleet of ambulances.

The children - famished after the journey - were given sweets and biscuits. After undergoing a medical examination, the immigrants were assigned to a detention centre in Syracuse. None needed to be hospitalised.