The Italian Navy said Thursday that it had rescued 233 migrants from an overcrowded smugglers’ boat in rough seas south of Sicily. The navy said one of its frigates transported the migrants — who were from Pakistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Zambia and Mali — into a Sicilian port on Thursday. They were initially rescued by another naval vessel on Wednesday night about 80 miles south of the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. Each year, thousands of African, Asian or Middle Eastern migrants attempt risky voyages across the Mediterranean Sea in unseaworthy boats, and hundreds die on the way. Unless they are eligible for asylum or have families or jobs in Europe, they risk expulsion by Italy.

via  NYTimes.com.