German helicopter searches for missing migrants

A lone German helicopter yesterday searched for what is feared to be a large number of migrants lost at sea after their dinghy capsized in territorial waters. Conflicting versions provided by survivors put the number of missing at between 10 and 70.

The helicopter, which forms part of the EU's Frontex mission that patrols this part of the Mediterranean for would-be immigrants, spotted three corpses on Wednesday and two yesterday, but no survivors. The German border police helicopter was yesterday morning forced to abandon the search due to a technical problem but resumed its operation in the afternoon and returned to shore in the evening.

Although the precise location of the incident cannot be determined, the Armed Forces of Malta plotted a search area based on the location where eight survivors were rescued on Wednesday.

The rescue was carried out by the locally registered fishing boat Madonna ta' Pompei some 59 miles off Malta after their dinghy started rapidly taking in water.

The migrants were eventually taken aboard an AFM patrol boat and handed over to Immigration Police for further questioning.

Meanwhile, contrary to the initial information received from the AFM Operations Centre, an AFM spokesman said that the Air Wing's Islander aircraft was not involved in the search operation.

A spokesman for the police yesterday confirmed that the migrants are providing conflicting information with regard to their original numbers. Some claim to have been 18 while others to have been 78, said the spokesman.

However, a statement issued by the UN refugee agency yesterday evening urged the Maltese authorities to broaden the search "for at least 70 people missing and feared dead".

The UNHCR office in Malta spoke to two of the eight survivors, among them a 15-year-old boy, who explained that their boat had set off from the Libyan coast on August 21 with 78 passengers on board, mainly Somali, Eritrean and Sudanese.

The two survivors said the boat had capsized in rough seas on Monday but although the eight managed to hang on, the remainder, including four women - three of them pregnant - were swept away.

The survivors are now at the Safi Detention Centre following preliminary interviews by the Immigration Police.

The UNHCR office said they are in a poor physical and mental condition and should be given medical care and the adequate support, including counselling.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, L. Craig Johnstone yesterday said he was shocked by the loss of life.

"I am deeply saddened by this latest tragedy," Mr Johnstone said in Geneva. "This terrible loss of life highlights the urgent need for a concerted international effort aimed at addressing the root causes of migration and at offering international protection to those in need."