Over 500 migrants rescued off Sicily

Over 500 migrants, including women and children, were rescued off the coast of Sicily early Tuesday after one of their three boats fell apart at sea.

Some 233 people were escorted to shore on the island of Lampedusa by Italian Coast guard, while another 336 migrants were saved off the coast of Agrigento. So far they have been identified as Eritrean, Pakistani and Syrian nationals, who told rescuers they had been at sea for about 10 days.

While the summer in southern Italy is marked by large numbers of migrants departing from North Africa, over 500 people is an exceptionally big group to arrive at once.