AFM rescues 76 migrants from within Maltese search and rescue area

A group of 76 migrants have been rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta and arrived in Malta on Thursday evening.

An AFM spokesperson confirmed that the migrants were intercepted within Malta’s search and rescue area to the south of the island.  

The spokesperson said that the migrants were from Ghana Guinea and South Sudan. They are all males.

The migrants arrived in Malta at 6pm on Thursday evening.

In an unrelated incident, the United Nations Refugee Agency said that up to 150 were feared drowned, with an additional 150 being returned to Libya.

If confirmed, the number of dead would be the highest for a shipwreck in the Mediterranean this year.