55 Asian migrants land on southern Italy’s Adriatic coast

ROME—A boat carrying 55 migrants from Asia — mostly women and children including two newborns — landed Saturday on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy’s Apulia region, custom officials said.

They said the migrants, many identifying themselves as Afghans, landed in a dinghy operated by traffickers who took off after arriving on Italian shores.

The migrant group included 36 minors, four women and two babies, and they appeared to be in good health, authorities said.

They were taken to the port of Otranto and a reception center where officials will begin an identification process.

Boatloads of immigrants seeking to enter Europe rarely land in Apulia. Most head for Italy’s southernmost Mediterranean islands close to the north African coast, notably Lampedusa.

The Italian government estimates that more than 50,000 immigrants have arrived in Lampedusa this year.