Fifty-six illegal immigrants were rescued by the Armed Forces yesterday. Half of them were found clinging to a tuna-pen after their boat capsized in rough seas.

It was a busy afternoon for the army which was called out to assist two groups of immigrants in distress.

The Rome rescue centre informed the AFM that an Italian fishing boat had spotted a boat with around 28 immigrants on board, some 50 nautical miles south of Malta. The Maritime Squadron's Protector-class patrol vessel was immediately dispatched to the area to investigate.

Shortly afterwards, an Italian tug-boat informed the AFM Operations Centre that another boat with 28 illegal migrants onboard had capsized, this time in their immediate vicinity, and that they were clinging to the tuna-pen their tug had in tow.

This second incident was a mere six nautical miles from the first. The Maltese army boat was diverted, with the AFM's air squadron scrambling an aircraft to the scene as well to aerially assess the situation.

A couple of hours later, the AFM vessel arrived on the scene to recover the 28 migrants in distress, six of whom were women and one was also pregnant.

The vessel then proceeded to recover the second group of 28 migrants, seven of whom were females.

A woman who was among the immigrants was airlifted to Mater Dei Hospital after suffering convulsions.

The migrants were brought into Haywharf last night.