It was the second shipwreck this week off Italy: On Monday, 13 men drowned while trying to reach southern Sicily when their ship ran aground just a few meters (yards) from shore.
Hundreds of migrants reach Italy's shores every day, particularly during the summer when seas are usually calmer.
They are processed in centers, screened for asylum and often sent back home.
Those who aren't usually melt into the general public and make their way to northern Europe, where immigrant communities are bigger and better organized.
