ROME, July 25 (RIA Novosti) - At least nine people drowned when two boats with illegal immigrants sank off the coast of Sicily, an Italian news agency said Wednesday.
Agr said the North Africans were probably heading for the Italian Island of Lampedusa, which houses an immigration center, one of the entry-points for migrants in Europe.
Coast guards and the Navy are working at the scene.
This is not the first tragedy in Italian waters involving migrants, who usually arrive from Africa in rubber boats, rafts, and old vessels.
Secret services say international criminal groups earn millions of euros from trafficking illegal immigrants through to Europe.