Young girl reaches Lampedusa on boat alone

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 11 - A young girl, believed to be around the age of 10, has reached Lampedusa on a boat alone, rescuers said Wednesday.
    The little boat on which she was travelling had departed from Sfax, in Tunisia.
    The little girl's boat was rescued on December 8 by operators working for the NGO Trotamar III who helped her disembark at dawn on Wednesday.
    The rescuers said the young migrant appears to hail from Sierra Leone.
    It is still unclear why she was travelling alone on the intercepted boat.
    Overall, 356 migrants landed on the Sicilian island overnight before the arrival of the young girl rescued by the crew of NGO Trotamar III.
    They were travelling on five boats, including one which was carrying 111 passengers, that were rescued by port authorities, finance police and Frontex officials.
    The first boat transported 111 people who hailed from Egypt, Eritrea, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan and Somalia, including 13 women and 11 minors.
    The others carried a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 87 passengers from Bangladesh, Syria, Morocco, Sudan and Iran.
    All passengers said they had departed from Libya. (ANSA).