Eighty illegal immigrants landed in Malta late last night.

The migrants - 66 men and 14 women, including three who were heavily pregnant, landed in two groups in the Freeport area. There was also a seven-year-old boy.

The AFM said in a statement it was notified by the police that some 40 illegal immigrants had made it to shore on the rocky coastline behind the Freeport oil-bunkering facility and that a sizeable rubber dinghy had also been observed in the choppy sea just offshore. The AFM’s Maritime squadron's dispatched a patrol boat to the area to investigate.

The boat intercepted the dinghy, with 40 immigrants on board, in the entrance to Marsaxlokk Bay's.

The migrants were towed to Wied il-Buni quay in Birzebbugia as their outboard engine was inoperative.

In the meantime, the police informed the army that a number of migrants from the dinghy had fallen overboard and the AFM sent a rescue-launch to search for survivors. The body of a dead male migrant was recovered.

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.