Record migrant sea arrivals on Lampedusa

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 26 - There were 4,121 migrants and refugees in the Lampedusa hotspot mid-morning on Saturday following the arrival on the island of a record 1,918 people in 65 landings on Friday and a further 870 people in 22 landings since midnight.
    The authorities were working to transfer new arrivals off the island, with a group of 740 people due to leave by ferry for Porto Empedocle on mainland Sicily during the morning.
    From there they will be sent to reception facilities in other parts of the country including Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Umbria and Calabria.
    However, ferry transfers are unable to keep pace with the large number of people arriving, and the facilities at Porto Empedocle are also struggling, including due to a lack of busses for onward journeys.
    Consequently, the prefecture and police headquarters in Agrigento are reportedly mobilising to make military ships and aircraft available to Lampedusa to support the transfers.
    (ANSA).