Close to 700 boat migrants reach Italy overnight

Almost 700 migrants reached the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in boats overnight, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Thursday morning.

According to the report, a total of 14 landings were registered.

The boats either arrived at the port without help or the people were rescued at sea, off the coast of the island.

On Wednesday, more than 1,200 people had arrived, making it a total of almost 2,000 migrants that have reached Lampedusa since Wednesday.

Ten of the 14 boats departed from the Tunisian coastal town of Sfax, ANSA reported. Another boat set off from Kerkenna, also in Tunisia, while three others departed from Libya.

The migrants were first taken to a reception camp on the Italian island. The migrant camp, which has a capacity for around 400 people, is now overcrowded, ANSA reported.

Lampedusa is located between Sicily and North Africa, about 190 kilometres from Sfax.

Many people keep trying to reach Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily or the Italian mainland by boat from Tunisia and Libya across the central Mediterranean.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior has counted more than 61,200 people who have reached Italy on boats this year, up from about 27,300 during the same period last year.

The attempts to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea sometimes lead to tragic boat accidents.

About two weeks ago, hundreds of migrants attempting to cross from Libya to Italy drowned off the coast of Greece.