Abandoned migrant ship
Ezadeen reaches Italy
"Those people there on the boat gambled their lives with the smugglers," reports James Reynolds at the docks as the boat arrived
A ship abandoned by its crew off Italy with 450 migrants on board has arrived at the Italian port of Corigliano Calabro, the coastguard says.
Earlier, rescuers boarded the Ezadeen after a passenger raised the alarm as it drifted in the Mediterranean.
The ship, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, lost power in rough seas overnight off the south-east of Italy.
A total of 796 migrants were rescued from another ship found abandoned without any crew earlier in the week.
Italy's coastguard tweeted to say the Ezadeen arrived into port shortly before 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
Cmdr Filippo Marini told reporters that the vessel was towed by an Icelandic ship that is part of the EU Frontex border control mission.
Children and pregnant women were among the migrants, most of whom were believed to be Syrian, Mr Marini said.
He added that the 73-metre (240ft) Ezadeen was believed to have set sail from Turkey, although earlier reports suggested it was sailing from Cyprus.
The Ezadeen was towed by an Icelandic ship that is part of an EU mission in the area
A Frontex spokesperson, Izabella Cooper, said the migrants were victims of smugglers using a different route to the usual one from Libya:
"What we are currently witnessing is the opening of a new migratory route where the smugglers buy old scrap cargo vessels, departing from Turkey," she said."
"This route is longer and the fees charged by the smugglers about three times higher than the fee charged by the smugglers from Libya."
The alarm was raised in a distress call from one of the migrants using the maritime radio on board, who told the Italian coastguard: "We're without crew, we're heading toward the Italian coast and we have no-one to steer."
The Ezadeen was built nearly 50 years ago and is a livestock carrier. It appears to be registered to a Lebanese company and has come under the control of human traffickers.
Analysis: Rob Watson, BBC News
The Ezadeen and the plight of its unfortunate passengers are part of an often unreported wave of human misery and hardship that sees hundreds of people try to cross the Mediterranean every day to reach Europe.
Last year it is estimated that nearly 3,500 refugees died trying to attempt the crossing, while another 200,000 were rescued.
Despite the dangers, it is easy to see why the numbers keep growing. War and instability in the Middle East and poverty in Africa make people desperate to leave.
The International Organisation for Migration says half of those attempting to get to Europe are from either Syria or Eritrea. For the smugglers involved, it is a hugely lucrative trade with migrants paying anything from around $600 (£400) to nearly $6,000 (£4,000) for their passage.
As to the more frequent use of much larger ships such as the Ezadeen, UN officials believe it is a tactic forced on the smugglers by the winter weather - but one that allows them to make even bigger profits from their unfortunate cargo.
There is also concern that two ships found abandoned this week had set out from Turkey as opposed to the more frequently used coast of North Africa.
It means a new route may be opening up to this growing problem.
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