Maritime search and rescue patrols have intercepted a migrant boat carrying more than 500 passengers aboard and "around 30 bodies," dpa quoted the Italian navy saying Monday. The discovery was made on Sunday. Survivors were picked up by a naval vessel, while the the dead were left on the migrant boat due to the difficulty of extracting them on the open sea, authorities said. The Italian naval frigate Grecale, carrying 566 survivors and towing the fishing vessel with the bodies of the dead, was expected to dock at the south-eastern Sicilian port of Pozzallo later in the day. "We can't handle the emergency on our own," said Pozzallo Mayor Luigi Ammatuna, who administers a town of less than 20,000. His town's port was expected to welcome a second naval vessel with another 353 rescued migrants. Italy has faced a record inflow of boat migrants. In the first six months of the year, according to Interior Ministry data obtained by dpa, 61,585 arrived on the country's shores, compared to less than 43,000 over the entire course of 2013. -- SPA 16:31 LOCAL TIME 13:31 GMT تغريد
