Rome - A further 448 would-be immigrants arrived Tuesday morning in southern Italy, with almost half landing on the islet of Lampedusa.

The first group of 220 - including seven women and 28 children - was rescued by a coast guard patrol and taken to Lampedusa shortly before dawn, the ANSA news agency reported.

Another group of 228, including 34 women and one infant child, was also brought to safety after the coast guard found them adrift on a boat some 30 nautical miles from the port of Pozzallo, Sicily, ANSA said.

Tuesday`s arrivals brought to 1,800 the number of would-be immigrants housed in a reception centre on Lampedusa which according to officials only has 800 beds.

Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni recently visited the islet to assure its inhabitants that there will be no repeat this year of the situation experienced in 2008 when 31,000 migrants landed on Lampedusa.

A total of 36,900 would-be immigrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2008, a 75 per cent increase over the previous year.

Maroni said a recent bilateral agreement with Libya will allow the Italian navy to patrol the North African nation`s coastline, an area from where many would-be immigrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy.

Maroni plans to host in May a meeting with his counterparts of the Group of Eight (G8) on Lampedusa in order to highlight the problem of illegal immigration. (dpa)