250 immigrants skip Malta for Lampedusa

Over 250 illegal immigrants arrived in Lampedusa last night after spending several hours steaming in a watery limbo between Malta and the Italian island.

The jam-packed vessel reached Lampedusa after a day and a half, prompting tension and concern among authorities and humanitarian organisations.

According to a spokesman for the Armed Forces, the African immigrants - mainly from Eritrea and Ethiopia - never asked for help or rescue as their boat floated for several hours in Maltese rescue waters.

Asylum seekers have the right of free passage unless they specifically ask for help, or if the army deems the sea too rough for them to proceed on their journey.

During the night between Friday and Saturday, a Maltese patrol boat provided food and drink at the migrants' request, as well as life-jackets.

Details provided by the army were sparse, though around 30 children are believed to be on board.

A number of Africans settled in Europe called NGOs, saying that some family members were on board the boat, which was constantly monitored by the AFM, until the Italians sent their own vessels to follow its movements last night.

The immigrants also made contact with an Eritrean refugee residing in Malta via satellite phone. However, contact with the boat went dead on Friday afternoon.

The UN Refugee Office in Malta kept following the progress of the boat throughout.

Neil Falzon, UNHCR's head in Malta, kept his fingers crossed for their safe passage: "Technically it was the immigrants' choice to continue with their voyage. But let's hope nothing goes wrong because with a boat packed with so many people, it could be a massive tragedy."

The boat people were first noticed by a Spanish cruise liner, Jules Verne, which was also involved in the rescue of 13 other Africans on Friday, after their boat capsized. Between 10 and 15 others are thought to have drowned.

The Jules Verne arrived in Malta on Friday night to drop off the immigrants before continuing on her cruise.

Illegal immigration flows in the Mediterranean have taken a slight dip this summer, though there has been the occasional sudden surge, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind.

Meanwhile, a group of 13 illegal immigrants were expected to arrive at Haywharf last night after they were rescued off Malta, according to a police statement.