Italy starts transferring ashore migrants stranded on Turkish ship

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Officials said the 30 who arrived at Porto Empedocle in Sicily on Monday were in good heatlh.

Antonio Cacciatore of the Porto Empedocle port authority said the remaining 90 would be transferred later Monday, the agency also reported adding that the authorities have not given details of the migrants’ nationalities.

Italy agreed to accept 140 migrants stranded aboard the Pinar on Sunday night, ending a four-day standoff with Malta about who would take them in. Italy said it did so for humanitarian reasons.

Turkish Ship 'Pinar' set out for its original destination, Sfax port in Tunusia, after handing over the 140 African immigrants to Italian authorities offshore Lampedusa island.

Three of the 20 immigrants taken to Lampedusa island were hospitalized, and the body of a dead female immigrant that was held in the tender boat of the ship for five days, was also taken there.

The remaining 120 immigrants will be taken to a refugee camp in Sicily.