Early on Sunday morning at around 06:15CET, the police were informed that a group of illegal immigrants entered in Marsaxlokk at an area known as il-Maghluq.
The group consisted of 25 men and a woman. The woman on board who was in a advanced pregnancy stage was immediately taken to St Luke's Hospital.
Further police investigations are underway.
This is the second boat in the past two days when late on Friday night another group of illegal immigrants was brought ashore at Haywharf.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times of Malta reported that Maltese authorities on Saturday denied permission to a Spanish trawler to bring 50 illegal immigrants to Malta. The Armed Forces yesterday afternoon dispatched provisions and the AFM doctor, accompanied by a Spanish diplomat, to the illegal immigrants, who were rescued by the vessel, the AFM said yesterday.
The Sunday Times of Malta further reported that the Melita II SAR launch reached the Spanish trawler as it stood 18 nautical miles off the island. The army doctor examined a woman and a girl, who needed no further medical assistance. The Spanish diplomat helped with translating. The operation lasted about three hours. The Sunday Times of Malta added that reliable sources told The Sunday Times that at 4 a.m. on Saturday, the AFM Rescue Co-ordination Centre received a phone call from their Madrid counterparts, who had been in contact with the Spanish vessel, Francesco Catalina, 100 miles southeast of Malta and requesting permission to enter a Maltese port with 50 "recovered" persons on board. The Maltese authorities denied permission.
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature:
Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.
See also:
Illegal immigrants brought ashore
by MaltaMedia News - Jul 15, 2006
© Copyright 2006 - MaltaMedia Online Network
Top of Page
| 
