44 rescued migrants to be brought to Malta

A group of 44 migrants that were rescued from a wooden boat on Monday will be brought to Malta by the armed forces, the government said on Wednesday.

In a statement, it said that the migrants had been rescued on the night of the 15 October.

“Following RCC Malta’s notification from a wooden notification from “a wooden boat with persons in difficulty, a merchant vessel was diverted to the area to render the necessary assistance,” the statement read.

The migrants, it said, were intercepted 58nm south of Lampedusa.

“Following the refusal of Italy to provide for the nearest place of safety, shelter and logistical support to the ship and in view of deteriorating weather conditions affecting the area, in the best interest of the safety of the rescued migrants, the AFM deployed an offshore patrol vessel in adverse weather conditions to transfer the migrants on-board,” the government said. 

The migrants are expected in Malta later on on Wednesday evening with the government noting that their disembarkation was being “administered without prejudice to Malta’s position to international law”.