A boat with some 260 African refugees landed early Sunday on the Italian island of Lampedusa after a voyage during which the Italian coast guard plucked a corpse from the sea, media reports said Sunday, according to DPA. The totally overcrowded vessel had been discovered in the waters off the island of Malta on Saturday, and despite considerable problems the vessel continued its voyage seeking to reach the European Union-member Italy. Italian coast guard vessels accompanied the ship as it made its way to Lampedusa, a tiny island some 175 kilometres south-west of Malta. The body of one of the immigrants was found floating in the sea, with authorities not certain whether the victim was from the latest refugee boat, or from some previous one. Among the latest group reaching Lampedusa were 71 women and 15 children. They were taken to a new reception centre built on the island to deal with the ongoing influx of would-be immigrants.
