Italian authorities deported 57 Egyptians Wednesday for illegally entering the country.
The deportees were sent home aboard a plane from Catania, Sicily, and were accompanied by 42 security personnel, according to a security source at Cairo International Airport.
The source added that Italian authorities arrested the 57 when they entered the country.
News reports say illegal immigration to Europe has been on the rise since Egypt’s January 2011 revolution, as deteriorating economic conditions at home prompt people to seek job opportunities abroad.
Immigrants typically leave the country aboard small boats that sail from Egypt’s northern coast.
State-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported earlier this month that Italian authorities deported 170 Egyptians.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
