(ANSA)Two Nigerian children die on boat trying to reach Italy:
26/07/2008 18:09 ROME, July 26 (AFP)
Two Nigerian children aged two and four died trying to reach Italy on a boat carrying 75 illegal immigrants, Italy's Ansa news agency said Saturday.
The bodies of the two children were thrown into the sea, their father told the crew of an Italian coast guard launch that rescued the group.According to the father, his two-year-old son began vomiting during the night soon after their boat left. He died soon after. His four-year-old sister later died of dehydration, Ansa reported.
The father said he was travelling alone with his children.The boat, a large rubber dinghy carrying 75 passengers, was picked up Saturday by the Italian coast guard south of the island of Lampedusa in the Strait of Sicily.
