Migrants claim to have lost 70 at sea

Eight migrants brought ashore yesterday afternoon claimed to have lost around another 70 to the sea, the police said.

An armed forces Protector class patrol boat, in an operation some 40 miles off the coast, received the migrants from a fishing boat, Madonna Di Pompei, which had earlier rescued them from a dinghy that was taking in water.

Once onboard, the AFM confirmed that all the migrants were male and later transferred them to another patrol boat closer to shore, handing them over to the Immigration Police at the Maritime Squadron's base in Haywharf.

Initial reports given to the Madonna Di Pompei and the AFM by the eight migrants indicated that they were the sole survivors from a larger group of 18. However, sources said that when they were landed at Haywharf by the AFM, the migrants claimed that their group was originally made up of about 78.

Observers commenting on this year's illegal migration flows around Malta said this claim is more plausible since statistics this summer show that there have been fewer arrivals from small boats capable of taking up to 28 persons but more frequent detection and recoveries of large dinghies carrying between 77 and 95 migrants.

The AFM said that an Air Wing islander aircraft search came up with no survivors but a German helicopter patrol reported three dead bodies about 56 miles south of Malta.