Boat people at centre of Italy-Malta spat arrive in Sicily

(PORTO EMPEDOCLE) - Scores of boat people arrived in Sicily on Monday after being stranded at sea for days while Malta and Italy tussled over which country would take them in, an AFP photographer reported from the scene.

Of the initial group of 140 migrants, 20 who were injured or ill had already been taken to Italy's Lampedusa island for treatment overnight.

The body of a pregnant woman recovered from the sea was also taken to Lampedusa, near where the crew of a Turkish freighter had rescued the migrants on Thursday.

Italy agreed Sunday to take in the migrants "for humanitarian reasons," the foreign ministry said, adding that it "does not constitute a precedent in recognising Malta's reasons" for not accepting them.

Both EU member states had appealed for Brussels to intervene in the standoff.

The Italian government said it would be push for the European Commission to intervene to resolve such disputes in future, rather than leaving it to the countries concerned.

While Malta recognised the Turkish ship had picked up the migrants in its area of rescue, it argued that international laws stipulated they be taken to the closest port -- which was Lampedusa.

Italy claimed Malta was responsible for the migrants, who included 39 women.

Both countries are grappling with a sharp spike in unauthorised immigration from outside the European Union, with 36,900 arriving in Italy last year -- a 75 percent increase from 2007 -- and a record 2,775 landing in Malta.