14 Would-Be Migrants Die off Sicily

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 16, 2002

14 Would-Be Migrants Die off Sicily

Fourteen would-be migrants from Liberia drowned Sunday after the rickety boat they were traveling on sank as it neared the Sicilian coast, officials said.

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Fourteen would-be migrants from Liberia drowned Sunday after the rickety boat they were traveling on sank as it neared the Sicilian coast, officials said.

The Italian coast guard and border patrol rescued another 92 people from the sea off the southern city of Agrigento, 12 of whom were hospitalized, said coast guard Cmdr. Giuseppe Rando.

Two crew members were arrested on suspicion they had facilitated illegal immigration, state TV reported.

The 30-foot old wooden boat was spotted about 600 feet from Cape Rosello, near Agrigento, shortly after 1 a.m., Rando said.

Rescue teams responded and recovered 14 bodies, including four women and a 15-year-old girl, he said. At least three of the bodies were found inside the sunken ship.

A police official in Agrigento, Salvatore Taffaro, said the dead were all believed to be from Liberia. Ninety of the rescued migrants were from that west African country, while another two were from Egypt, he said.

ANSA quoted one of the survivors, an 18-year-old called Elizabeth, as saying the group left Liberia two weeks ago aboard a larger boat, then transferred Saturday night onto the smaller one to get closer to shore.

She said it sank as the weather and seas quickly turned violent.

The rugged Sicilian coast is a common destination for would-be migrants from north Africa and the Middle East. Most of the illegal migrants don't stay in Italy but travel onto northern European countries with relatively larger immigrant communities.

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