24 illegal immigrants saved, 53 disappear

Twenty-four illegal immigrants were rescued by the armed forces on Monday night but fears linger over the fate of another individual following a night of high drama in the Mediterranean.

The UN agency for refugees is fearing the worst over the safety of another 53 illegal immigrants who were spotted drifting south of Malta, two days ago, but have not been traced since. The army has been kept busy working round the clock as reports of sightings of Africans trying to reach Europe start pouring in.

On Monday night, an army offshore patrol vessel, assisted by an aircraft, continued its search for the boatload of 53 migrants that was sighted the day before, taking in water and drifting with a stalled outboard motor.

Instead, however, the vessel came across a second boatload of migrants making six knots towards Lampedusa.

As the AFM monitored the boat, trying to make out the migrants' intentions, the boat "suddenly disappeared" and an AFM dinghy was sent to investigate.

The dinghy's party found that the boat had capsized and all the Africans were crying out for help. The soldiers started hauling immigrants on board in pitch darkness and choppy seas, the AFM said.

Since space on board the dinghy was limited and time was of the essence, it was decided to cast out one of the patrol boat's main life rafts to serve as a temporary refuge until all the immigrants had been rescued.

Shortly afterwards, the rescued migrants said that all those on board had been accounted for. But, after being given blankets and food, the migrants claimed that one was missing.

The AFM combed the area for a further two hours but concluded that if anyone was missing, there was no hope of tracing that person. Later, early in the morning en route to Haywharf, the migrants - 18 men and six women - explained that the person who went missing had been steering the boat.

Footage and photographs released by the AFM show the drama of the rescue operation, as the immigrants were pulled to safety.

The four-hour aerial search for the other 53 immigrants yielded no result. While the aircraft had to return to base for overnight refuelling and maintenance, the patrol boat kept up its search throughout the night.

Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said in Parliament yesterday that there was still no news of the 53 illegal immigrants. The boat was closer to Lampedusa at the time it was photographed by the AFM and it was possible that the Italian coastguard had rescued the migrants, although there was no information in this sense either, Dr Abela told Labour MP Noel Farrugia.

Neil Falzon, head of the UNCHR office in Malta, said contacts in Lampedusa had confirmed that the migrants had not reached the island. Likewise, there were still no reports that the boat had travelled to Libya.

"We praise the efforts of the AFM since we know they're working in very difficult conditions. We're very concerned over the fate of these 53 people, especially if women and children were on board," he said.

After the events of the last few days, Dr Falzon said it was worth reflecting on the large numbers of desperate asylum seekers who die as they try to make the crossing.

A 23-year old immigrant from the Ivory Coast was the only survivor last weekend after his boat, reportedly packed with 29 migrants, sank in rough seas.

In the meantime, the AFM has maintained a constant vigil, through patrols, to the south-west area of the island.

A third boat, carrying about 28 immigrants was seen in the vicinity of Malta, yesterday.

The EU is stepping up efforts to tackle illegal immigration on its southern borders and is planning six joint operations and four study projects this year with Frontex, allocating €8 million for the operations.

In a bid to deter migrants, Spanish newspapers yesterday published disturbing photographs of illegal immigrants who died as they tried to realise their dreams of a new life in Europe.

The caption accompanying the picture in the daily El Mundo read: "They are not sleeping, they are dead". The picture showed a group of African immigrants who died in a small kayak trying to reach the Canary Islands, possibly from cold, hunger or thirst.