Almost 1,600 migrants, including hundreds of women and children, have arrived in ports in southern Italy, some assisted by merchant vessels, authorities said Tuesday.
A Swedish merchant ship arrived in Catania in Sicily with 233 migrants rescued from the seas off Italy's southern coast, authorities said.
Another commercial ship brought about 363 migrants from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Tunisia.
Estimates are that a total of 1,593 migrants have arrived in the latest wave.
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