ROME: Italy's coast guard is searching for eight Algerian migrants who apparently tried to swim to shore when the motor of their boat failed off Sardinia's southwest coast.
The coast guard said in a statement Saturday that three people who decided to stay aboard the stranded boat and were rescued told authorities that 10 people in all had abandoned ship Thursday near Isola del Toro, an uninhabited rock off the Sardinian island of Sant'Antiochio.
The coast guard has already recovered two bodies. While Sicily is a close European destination for migrants departing from Libya, people leaving from Algeria typically head for Sardinia. The arrival of five boats carrying 63 people was reported in the last week.
Search on for 8 missing Algerian migrants near Sardinia
Search on for 8 missing Algerian migrants near Sardinia
