The Italian Navy on Friday intercepted a 10-meter trawler some three miles south of the island of Lampedusa crowded with 321 illegal immigrants aboard.
The vessels was towed to the small island, which is located between Sicily and the North African coast, where authorties were able to verify that among the 321 were five women and eight minor aboard.
Most of the immigrants were said to be North Africans, although they claimed to have begun their voyage in Turkey.
However, according to authorities it was more likely that the boat left from a port in Libya 36 hours earlier.
