Updated | Armed Forces rescue 142 migrants

Two groups of migrants who found themselves in distress at sea were rescued by the army on Sunday.

Yesterday morning, the Armed Forces of Malta rescued a group of 47 migrants, which were brought to Hay Wharf at around 6pm.

Later, the army rescued a second group of 95 people, who disembarked at Hay Wharf at 9:30pm. One of the migrants required medical attention and was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment.

Yesterday, Sea-Eye, a German-run charity, rescued 78 migrants off the Libyan coast on Saturday. The NGO had accused Libyan authorities of harassing rescuers and acting illegally.   

The rescue vessel Alan Kurdi also rescued migrants who were stranded aboard two separate boats. Taking to social media, Sea-Eye said that Malta had rejected its request for a safe port of entry, and the ship was now heading for Italy. 

Among the 77 migrants onboard are eight women and seven children, the youngest seven months old. The NGO said that many were severely dehydrated and were immediately taken to the onboard medical area for treatment.

"The self-proclaimed Libyan coastguards treat the area of search and rescue operations as their territorial waters, harassing civilian rescuers and giving illegal instructions," Alan Kurdi head of operations Johanna Pohl said.