Fifteen irregular Muslim immigrants from Africa, traveling on a boat to Italy, threw 12 Christian passengers into the Mediterranean Sea. Witnesses say that the incident occured after a brawl on board.

The police were informed and arrested the Muslim immigrants. Reports did not indicate what happened to the Christians and it is presumed that they were pulled back onto the ship.

There has been a huge influx on illegal immigrants in Italy since last Friday with 10,000 entering the country and another 400 known to have drowned in a shipwreck off Libya. Italy, like Greece, has asked for the EU states to participate in a coordinated effort to deal with the wave of illegal immigrants.