Migrant sisters adopted

Almost two years after they were rescued from a sinking boat, two migrant sisters will be adopted by a foreign couple living in Malta.

"There is already contact with the future parents," Emigrants Commission head Mgr Philip Calleja told The Sunday Times.

Three-year-old Destiny and Victoria, two, were saved from certain death after being found floating face down in the water in September 2008.

According to AFM Sergeant Silvio Xerri, Victoria was almost dead when she was taken on board an army rescue boat.

"She looked like a rag doll. She was not breathing and had no pulse," he told The Sunday Times.

Sgt Xerri, an engineer trained as a combat medic, said a colleague handed him the baby, who was around six months old at the time.

"There was chaos, immigrants in the sea and the two children floating face down. Her lungs were full of water," he said.

After removing the water filling her lungs and applying CPR, Victoria started stirring, although she remained unconscious. Destiny was also unconscious, but in a better state than her sisters.

The sisters' adoption will bring to an end months of uncertainty for the youngsters, believed to have lost their parents as they crossed over from Africa in a bid to reach European soil.

Very little is known about the two sisters, with Mgr. Calleja saying they had to undergo DNA tests to determine their age. The woman who was caring for them during the fateful voyage died, and other migrants were not able to give the authorities details about the girls. It was the sisters at the crèche who named them.

Another girl, Blessing, who was rescued in similar circumstances two years ago, is also being adopted, with Mgr Calleja saying she is already living with her adoptive parents.

The daughter of a woman from Cameroon and a Nigerian man, Blessing was born in Libya on June 13, 2007, according to a declaration signed by Benedicte, a woman who initially claimed to be her aunt but later admitted she was not a relative. Both Blessing's parents - Morine and Dadau - and her brother are believed to have drowned during their journey to Europe.

Sergeant Derrick Pepe, who winched Blessing onto a helicopter, said it was very emotional to see young children all alone. "I can imagine what she went through. At least we were able to save her."

Blessing was rescued and spent months being cared for at the Ursuline Sisters Crèche while the authorities decided on her future, becoming the youngest unaccompanied minor to arrive in Malta before Victoria was saved from another sinking boat in September 2008.