Nearly 100 migrants, hidden in trucks aboard ferry, found in Italian port city

ANCONA , Italy, May 13 (UPI) -- Nearly 100 migrants, most from Syria, arrived in the port city of Ancona, Italy, after spending nearly 20 hours at sea hidden in containers on two trucks aboard a ferry boat.

The discovery was made by Italian border police when the Greek freighter Cruise Olympia pulled into the harbor Monday night. The drivers of the trucks, one Turkish and one Greek, were arrested.

Police said many of the migrants were children. About 69 of the migrants were detained immediately by police; the rest were found in the city of Ancona, on the Adriatic coast of Italy.

It is likely the migrants will seek asylum.

Europe, and especially Italy, is contending with of a recent wave of migrants, typically from North Africa and the Middle East, escaping war and poverty. Migrants most notably arrive in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Sinking is common, and the Italian Navy has a protocol, called "Mare Nostrum," in place to rescue and process the migrant population.