Italian migrant center gets 86 more migrants rescued in Mediterranean

ROME, July 17 (UPI) -- Some 86 migrants, including two pregnant women, were taken to Italy's southern-most island Wednesday following rescue by a tanker, officials said.

The tanker found the immigrants about 100 miles south of the island of Lampedusa Tuesday night after a passenger called Palermo's port authority to ask for help, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

Lampedusa is a favored destination for North African immigrants, who head for the island by the thousands every spring and summer. The migrant holding center on Lampedusa is capable of accommodating 300 people, but on Wednesday contained 371 migrants.