Refugees dropped off on uninhabited isle

(ANSA) - Siracusa, August 29 - 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.