A boat carrying nearly 500 illegal immigrants arrived overnight on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
The 484 migrants were crammed aboard a 25-metre long boat.
There were no details on their condition or where they have come from.
The tiny tourist island, which lies around 200km southwest of Sicily, has become one of the main gateways for impoverished Third World migrants.
Italy believes many illegal immigrants set sail from Libya and is seeking a deal with Tripoli to try to stem the flow.
