Italian authorities have seized a Spanish charity's rescue ship after it brought 216 migrants stranded off the coast of Libya to Sicilian shores.

Proactiva Open Arms picked up the migrants and refused to release them to the Libyan coastguard, which would have returned them to Africa.

A public prosecutor in Sicily ordered the boat's seizure after it docked in the port town of Pozzallo on Sunday.

Crew members are suspected of criminal association in illegal immigration.

The case highlights tensions between humanitarian organisations rescuing migrants at sea and EU states that have sought to reduce the number of migrants making dangerous boat crossings to reach the continent.

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