More than 40 children were among over 200 migrants who arrived in the western Sicilian port of Trapani on Friday after they were rescued in the Mediterranean, charity Save the Children said.
One of the children was aged under five and more than 30 of them told Save the Children officials they had travelled alone. Some said they had fled war zones in the Middle East, the charity said.
The 229 migrants were given water and food as well as blankets and medical assistance upon their arrival in Trapani, Save the Children said.
The migrants, who included women, docked in Trapani aboard Save the Children's ship Vos Hestia after they were plucked from the sea in three rescue operations in recent days.
More than 40 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Rosetta, local reports said on Thursday.
A total of 3,213 people died crossing the Mediterranean in the year to 18 September, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Over 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers fleeing war and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have reached Europe by sea since the start of the year, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Tuesday.
The majority of arrivals were recorded in Greece and Italy.
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