[WATCH] Updated | Body of missing fisherman found off Pembroke, two dead, two injured as boat capsizes

Fishing vessel capsizes leaving one dead and one missing

Two men died and another two were hospitalised after their fishing boat capsized off Żonqor Point during the night.

A massive search operation was underway in Marsaskala after the 45ft fishing vessel capsized in the rough weather that hit the Maltese islands.

All that remains of the 45ft fishing vessel

One man, a Moroccan of 29 years, died. Another was still missing at the time of the incident. His body was later found at 7pm by the Armed Forces of Malta off Pembroke. The man, a Sicilian, was only found in the afternoon in the limits of Pembroke following an intense search by the Armed Forces of Malta.

An AFM patrol boat is also out at sea to help in the search effort

Two men on the vessel, aged 35 and 29, were injured but were able to swim to shore.

La Repubblica revealed that the 29-year-old was a Moroccan employee while the second dead person, Luciano Sapienza, was the owner of the vessel.

The Syracusan fishing boat known as the Zaira capsized at around 4:00am off Zonqor Point (Photo: Corriere Della Sera)

Il Corriere Della Sera reported that the boat was a Syracusan fishing boat known as the Zaira and that the men onboard were all Sicilian.

"We are close to the family and we have been in contact with them since this morning. We are also communicating with the embassy, ​​" said the Mayor of Syracuse, Francesco Italia.

There would have been three Syracusan boats in the area, two would have moved north to escape the bad weather, but the Zaira, the smallest, was swept away by the waves, capsizing it.

The incident happened off Żonqor Point at around 4:00am. A number of police cars, an ambulance and fire engine are on site.

The capsized boat is believed to have gone under in the rough seas and only the top of its radio mast is visible.