Law & Order
AFM escorts 56 illegal immigrants ashore
By MaltaMedia News
Aug 7, 2008 - 9:05:13 AM

56 illegal migrants were rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta late on Wednesday night, the AFM said in a statement.

The immigrants were rescued as two separate groups, one of 28 and the other of 30 immigrants. All were males except for two females in the first group, one of whom was pregnant.

The first case was signalled to AFM personnel at the Operations Centre of Luqa Barracks at 1850CET by a tanker vessel, the "Forward Bridge”, which stated that whilst in a position 27 nautical miles (NM) east of Malta, a boatload of migrants has accosted them, asking for fuel and food.  

Whilst an AFM Air Wing Alouette helicopter was scrambled into the air to ascertain matters on site, the Maritime Squadron dispatched the Bremse-class patrolboat P-32 to the same area.
 
The AFM helicopter subsequently reported sighting the migrants' 20-foot fibre-glass boat, wearing life-jackets and heading still in a northerly direction.  Searches by p-32 for the migrants' boat were initially unsuccessful, until another merchant vessel, the "Vema Cape" reported to the AFM Ops Centre that the same migrants were alongside and requesting assistance.  

P-32 was within a 7 mile range of the tanker and at 2320CET  located the migrants' boat which was found unfit to travel any further. The migrants, 26 males and 2 females one of whom is pregnant,  were taken onboard the patrolboat and landed at Haywharf base at 0130CET circa.
 
Meanwhile,the International Co-ordination Cell of the FRONTEX's joint-operation Nautilus-3 relayed to the AFM's Operations Centre that an Italian fishing vessel, the "Alibut", whilst fishing had reported rescuing 30 male migrants in a boat in a position 40 NM south of Malta.

Some of the group had tried to forcibly board the fishing vessel, whilst others did not manage to, obliging the fishing boat's crew to take them all onboard.  Given the situation onboard and the other concurrent rescue-operation, the "Alibut" was instructed to start a a northerly  approach towards Malta to conduct a mid-sea rendezvous with AFM Swift-class patrolboat P-24  for a transfer of the migrants.

The transfer was later carried out whilst both vessels were 24 NM south of Malta, with the migrants landed at Haywharf at circa 0330CET.

Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature: Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.


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