Over 430 illegal immigrants from North Africa landed by boat on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, Italian authorities reported, according to DPA. The refugees arrived in two boats with two other vessels, one carrying 100 and the other several dozen passengers, said to be nearing the island, the authorities said Sunday evening. The arrivals have put pressure on Lampedusa's immigrant reception centre, which was said to be completely overcrowded. On Sunday morning, a first boat carrying about 400 Africans was intercepted by the coast guard four nautical miles from land after one of the refugees sent a distress signal by mobile phone. Later, the coast guard came across a second boat carrying about 30 passengers, also mostly from North Africa. Over 500 people are now being housed in the reception facility which is designed to hold 190. In all, more than 14,000 refugees from North Africa have landed in southern Italy since the beginning of the year prompting the Italian Government to ask other European countries to cooperate to check the flow of migrants. Italy is often merely a transit point for migrants hoping to reach France or Germany.
