The Armed Forces of Malta on Saturday were involved in the rescue operation of some 65 immigrants, local media said. The immigrants were on board a rubber dinghy 50 miles off Lampedusa. The search for the immigrants started after the Italian authorities received a rescue call through a phone call.
It was also reported that an AFM Islander aircraft was scrambled twice in an unsuccessful attempt to locate another boat reported in the central Mediterranean.
The 65 migrants were consequently picked up by an Italian Navy vessel and landed in Lampedusa.
The number of illegal immigrants landing in Lampedusa topped 500 in the last couple of days alone. Italian media also reported small landings on the other two Italian islands of Pantelleria and Sardenia.
A second search operation was launched after a Somali immigrant in Italy phoned the Rome rescue centre reporting that his brother was on a boat in the Mediterranean heading towards Italy. The position given was in the Malta rescue region. The search continued.
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature: Lanca Gejja u Ohra Sejra
