Police in southern Italy on Monday arrested two suspected Russian people smugglers and managed to trace 42 migrants after they came ashore from a German-flagged yacht which was found on a beach.
The migrants, who included 32 adults among them four women as well as six minors, were taken to a reception centre for health checks and identification, police said.
Police said they recovered the empty 15-metre yacht which had run aground on a beach near Roccella Jonica after a tip-off from a local fisherman.
The two Russians are believed to have sailed the yacht to Italy after leaving from Turkey last week, according to investigators.