SIRACUSA, Italy, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Italian coast guard rescued 70 Syrian migrants after their boat became stranded off the coast of Sicily, port authorities said Thursday.
Port authorities said they received a distress call Wednesday from the 410-foot boat about 85 miles off the southern coast of Sicily near Siracusa.
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The coast guard rescued all 70 people on the boat, including four children, and all are in good health, ANSA reported. The migrants were taken to shore.
Some 2,872 Syrians have fled their war-torn homeland, arriving on Italy's shores in the first eight months of 2013, the Italian interior ministry said Wednesday.
