AFM destroys migrants' boat after rescue

The armed forces rescued a group of 26 illegal immigrants on Thursday night and then torched their boat, so as not to have to tow it back to land and delay obtaining urgent medical attention for the migrants, the AFM said.

The migrants, all men, came ashore early yesterday morning at Hay Wharf. Twenty five of them claim to be from Palestine and one says he is Egyptian.

Five fishermen had spotted the group aboard a fibreglass boat adrift 45 miles south-east of Malta. "They said they had been at sea for seven days and asked me to provide them with petrol so they could proceed with their trip to Italy," recounted Joseph Bugeja, a Marsaxlokk fisherman.

He alerted the Palace Signal Tower and provided food and water to the migrants.

An AFM boat was on the spot shortly afterwards and recovered the occupants. AFM personnel then proceeded to free the boat from the fishing vessel Ave Maria, which had been towing it, in order to allow it to go adrift and then burn it, Mr Bugeja said.

He said he saw them dousing fuel on the 18-foot boat and setting it on fire, and "couldn't believe his eyes".

Mr Bugeja's legal representative, Godfrey Gauci Maistré, said the AFM were in duty bound to tow the boat to shore. The government would then have two options - to auction it or give it to the fisherman that salvaged it.

"All such boats have a value tagged to them. Wanton destruction is not on," Dr Gauci Maistré said, adding that he had been informed that this was not the first time that boats had been set alight.

Besides, Dr Gauci Maistré said, unless it was ascertained that such vehicles have sunk there was a risk that they may remain half submerged thus posing a danger to navigation.

The AFM last night said that under normal circumstances, every effort was made to tow to Malta any craft intercepted at sea which was either in distress, adrift or unattended. This, it said, was equally applicable to floating objects which might be hazardous to navigation.

In such operations, it took due consideration of the prevailing weather conditions, condition of the craft or object in question, expected delay to other ensuing operations, urgency of other operations and the particular circumstances of the case in hand. When the sea craft or object was considered hazardous to navigation, it made sure to remove it before leaving the area.

"In the particular case of the night of October 14, the migrants were visibly greatly exhausted and in dire need of urgent medical attention. The prevailing sea conditions in the area compounded the migrants' already bad condition and towing the migrants' boat was going to result in a delay in the transfer of the rescued migrants to shore.

"In the context of these circumstances, and to ensure that no possibility is left to sailing potential human traffickers to take possession of the abandoned boat for its use in further illegal transportation of more humans, as well as to eliminate any hazard to navigation, the destruction of the boat, which was made of unsinkable fibreglass expanded foam, was considered as the best course of action to be taken."

The AFM also said it was seriously concerned about "the increased coincidences happening of late, where seacraft carrying illegal immigrants have been found without their outboard motors. These incidents influenced further the AFM's decision to dispose of the boat by fire".