http://www.boston.com/dailynews/112/world/Stranded_ship_with_562_immigra:.shtml

Stranded ship with 562 immigrants towed to Italy

By Associated Press, 4/22/2001 18:47

ROME (AP) A rusty ship crammed with 562 illegal immigrants, including 63 children, was towed under police escort to Italy's southern coast on Sunday after being left by its crew to drift in the Adriatic Sea, authorities said.

Most of the passengers appeared to be Kurds, but their nationalities were not immediately known, news reports said, adding that Sri Lankans were also aboard.

The ship was believed to be from Turkey, which has been under pressure from European countries to stem the flow of illegal migrants.

After the ship arrived in the southern port of Gallipoli, a child and a pregnant woman were rushed to a hospital because they were ill, RAI state television reported.

Rescue workers wearing surgical masks to guard against possible disease helped passengers climb down an improvised gangplank to the dock.

Police said the ship's crew had set the ship adrift, possibly fearing capture, shortly before passengers sent out a radio call for help during the night.

Authorities were trying to determine if the smugglers had then left the ship or had mingled with the immigrants to try to pass themselves off as passengers.

Police suspect two of the passengers of being crew members, said Gallipoli's commander of paramilitary police, Gerardo Petitto.

Almost nightly, immigrants are smuggled across the Adriatic to Italy's long, poorly patrolled coastline most of them in motorized dinghies or small fishing boats.

Most are headed to northern Europe, where many immigrants, including Kurds, have relatives with homes or jobs.

Illegal immigration has become a hot issue in campaigns for Italy's May 13 elections. Both candidates for premier media magnate Silvio Berlusconi and former Rome Mayor Francesco Rutelli have pledged to crack down on illegal immigration.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001