People smugglers disembark some 400 migrants near beach in Sicily
People smugglers managed to disembark some 400 migrants, probably all Tunisians, from two boats near a beach in Sicily on Sunday before sailing away, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing police.
The incident sparked a helicopter search for their vessels.
The report said the boats dropped the migrants off a few metres (yards) from shore near the historic town of Agrigento in southern Sicily.
The coastguard backed by a helicopter were searching for the boats, ANSA said.