825 Illegal Migrants Rescued From Ship

Italian tugboats rescued 825 illegal immigrants, most of them Kurds, from a Turkish ship that ran aground off the southern coast in one of the largest-ever attempts to smuggle people into Italy. All the passengers were brought ashore. Two men and a woman were hospitalized for dehydration after the six-day voyage in which passengers said they were given only bread and cheese to eat. Passengers, who also included Pakistanis and Iraqis, were given temporary shelter at schools and a sports center. Italy’s porous southern coast and relatively lax immigration laws have given it a reputation as a gateway into Europe for Kurds and others.