Thirty-five asylum seekers,
including a 22-month-old Iranian girl, were dropped off on an
uninhabited island off the coastal village of Portopalo di Capo
Passero, on Sicily's southernmost tip facing towards Africa,
officials said Monday.
The island is only reachable by boat from the mainland, and
is usually a day trip destination during the summer holidays.
A Milan doctor who happened to be on the beach came to
their aid, because the infant was in bad shape and needed
reanimation.
The child was with her mother and two sisters, aged 19 and
22, and was hospitalized in the city of Noto.
The group included eight women and seven children. The
refugees hailing from Bangladesh, China, Iran, Iraq and Nepal
told Coast Guard rescuers they had left from Turkey six days
ago. They have been taken to the port city of Augusta.
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