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African Migrant: Chance Of New Life Cost £720

A teenage African migrant who braved the deadly crossing from his continent to Italy has told Sky News it cost him €1,000 (£720) for the chance of a new life.

Gambian Sang Sarr, 17, paid people traffickers in Libya for a place in one of their boats for a crossing that has seen hundreds perish.

Speaking at the metal gates of a migrant centre in the city of Trapani, he said he undertook the dangerous journey to find work in Italy, but is worried it will be almost impossible.

He was one of many who told Sky News similar horror stories of hardship and ill-treatment at the hands of the gangs.

Sang described how even before he was put on a boat, people smugglers put a gun to his head and forced him to do electrical work.

But his ordeal continued when he set sail for a new life in Europe.

He said: "The dinghy we were put in had space for 90 people maximum, but the gangs are greedy. Sometimes they overload it.

"They put up to 120 people in them, for more profit, so it's no wonder they capsize. The conditions are horrific."

He said despite being an electrician, he wanted to find agricultural work on Italian farms.

"There's work to be had in the fields, if you want to get €3 (£2.20) an hour picking fruit and vegetables," he said.

"I'm a trainee electrician, but getting work in Italy when so many Italians don't have employment is very, very difficult."

Sang is one of around 500 people staying at the centre on the outskirts of Trapani - one of the largest towns on the island off Italy's southern coast.

There are bars on the gates but those living there are free to come and go and benefit from food, water, clothing and shelter.

Some stay only for a day or two, before disappearing, others remain there for months.

Many of the migrants say they will now head for Germany because they believe there are better opportunities to be had there, rather than stay in Italy.

Italian politicians are calling for help from other European countries as they struggle to cope with the huge influx of migrants from North Africa.

More than 13,000 people have been plucked from creaking vessels in the Mediterranean in the space of a week by the Italian Navy and coastguard.

Vito Damiano, mayor of Trapani, told Sky News: "This is an enormous problem now and it's getting more serious every week.

"We need the governments of European countries like Germany, France and the UK to meet and face up to this crisis. That's what it is, a crisis.

"It's a huge transportation of humanity, from one continent to another. And it is very hard for Italy to deal with this problem alone."