Around 170 African migrants in boats reached the southern shores of Sicily Sunday, dpa quoted the Italian authorities as saying. Several migrants had to be brought to hospital suffering from exhaustion while some passengers jumped into the sea several miles off the coast to try to escape the Italian coast guard. About one hundred migrants arrived near Agrigento in the first boat and within hours two smaller boats arrived carrying around 70 people. It is believed the boats set out from the coast of Libya, dpa said. Boats carrying migrants from East or West Africa arrive almost daily at the southern Italian islands of Lampedusa, Linosa and Sicily. Many migrants drown while making the risky crossing of the Mediterranean. The Italian coast guard has recently noticed a new trend of travelling in smaller boats carrying 20 to 30 passengers in an effort to avoid detection by the authorities.
