Malta agrees to receive 55 migrants rescued off Tunisia

The Maltese and Italian governments have agreed that 55 migrants rescued off the coast of Tunisia earlier this week will be brought to Malta.  

In a statement on Thursday, the government said that the migrants would be transferred to an Armed Forces of Malta vessel which would bring them into Malta. However, Italy will take 55 migrants currently in Malta.

On Thursday, A sailboat belonging to the Italian charity Mediterranea had rescued 55 people in distress off the Libyan coast.

"This agreement is without prejudice to the situation in which this operation has taken place, and in which Malta has no legal responsibility, but is part of an initiative fostering a European spirit of cooperation and goodwill between Malta and Italy," the government said.

Earlier, another vessel carrying 86 people across the Mediterranean from Libya sank off the Tunisian coast, with all but three of them believed drowned.

READ MORE: Migrant ship capsizes off Tunisia, 82 missing and five dead