Italian coastguard vessels last night rescued around 60 migrants on a rubber dinghy some 25 miles south off Lampedusa.

The operation was coordinated by Malta rescue centre after the migrants used a satellite phone to alert the authorities in Italy. The area where the dinghy was found is in the Malta rescue region, however Maltese officials insisted that the migrants had to be taken to Lampedusa, which was the closest port of call.

The migrants in their phone call said that two persons had died on board, but no corpses were found when the rescue was made. Italian officials said the corpses may have been dumped into the sea.

Some of the other migrants were in poor health and needed urgent hospital treatment.

Five of those on board were pregnant women.

Italian media said that the fate of those who were not hospitalised depended on Malta, however the Maltese authorities insisted that in terms of international conventions the closest port of call of Lampedusa.

The transit of migrants across the Mediterranean has eased considerably since Italy started sending back to Italy all migrants found in international waters.

No migrants have landed in Malta for almost six months.