A heavily pregnant migrant was rescued from a dinghy 170 miles south of Malta this afternoon after a doctor was lowered to the craft to give assistance. She is being brought to Malta along with another migrant, who is also pregnant.

The alert was raised by a fishing boat which reported coming across a rubber dinghy carrying a number of migrants, including women and children. In view of the condition of one of the pregnant women an Italian Military Mission helicopter lowered an army doctor to the boat to give assistance. The migrants were subsequently transferred to a patrol boat which is expected to arrive at Haywharf this evening.

Another patrol boat is monitoring the dinghy.

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