A group of 78 illegal immigrants was picked up from a drifting boat in rough seas 68 nautical miles south of Malta this morning.

The migrants were rescued by AFM patrol boat P-61 in a difficult operation. The group included 25 women, five of them pregnant, and five children.

The AFM was alerted by a satellite phone call from the boat to foreigners in Malta and the UNHCR office in Valletta late yesterday.

P-61, which was immediately deployed, encountered heavy Force 6 to 7 seas to the extent that its skipper, Captain James Grech, said damage was caused to his vessel and the rescue was 'high risk'.

The rescue was further complicated by heavy rain as the migrant children were transferred, hand to hand, from their boat to the patrol craft.

The return trip to the AFM's Maritime Base at Haywharf was at very low speed because of the conditions. The immigrants were in a relatively good condition except for one of the pregnant women who was in bad shape as she was near the end of her term.

The group was the second to be brought to Malta since 106 migrants were rescued a week ago.