(Adds video)

A group of 83 migrants, including a nine-month-old baby, a child and 12 women, was rescued this morning by the AFM.

The migrants were on a dinghy 97 nautical miles south-south-east of Malta. The migrants claimed to have lost 5 members of their group.

The presence of the dinghy was first reported by Rome rescue centre yesterday afternoon. The AFM diverted the tanker Johann Schulte to the given position. A German coastguard Puma helicopter based in Malta for Frontex operations also went to the scene. The helicopter crew reported sighting the boat with infants onboard and individuals lacking life-jackets.

The ship provided the migrants with some food and water and the migrants early today were then transferred to patrol boat P-51 which is expected to arrive in Malta later this morning.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.