Malta accepts 97 migrants rescued by cargo ship after spat with Tunisia

Malta accepted to disembark 97 migrants rescued by a cargo vessel over the weekend after a standoff with Tunisia that lasted several hours, Turkish media report.

The Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel operated by a Turkish captain was directed to rescue the 97 migrants when their dinghy started taking water within Malta's Search and Rescue Area. The vessel had been sailing between two Tunisian ports.

Demirören News Agency quoted captain Ümit Gürpınar saying that the Maltese authorities alerted them to the dinghy in distress that was carrying Libyan, Syrian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrants. There were also women and children on board.

After the rescue, a dispute purportedly broke out between Malta and Tunisia as to which country should take in the migrants. Gürpınar said this led to the migrants rioting and threatening to damage the ship with tools.

The captain told Turkish media that after 12 hours of negotiations, Malta allowed the migrants to disembark following intervention by the Turkish foreign ministry.

The rescue and disembarkation of these 97 migrants was not communicated by the Maltese government or the Armed Forces of Malta. It remains unclear whether the migrants have actually made landfall in Malta.