A group of 342 migrants was rescued in the early hours yesterday from Maltese waters and taken to Sicily.

A spokeswoman from the National Security Ministry told this newspaper that the migrants were in Malta’s search-and-rescue area but Lampedusa was the closest safest port.

The rescue was coordinated by the Maltese and Italian authorities, and the group of migrants was taken to Sicily.

Italian media reported that three people needed urgent medical help and were rushed to Lampedusa.

In a separate incident, another group of 90 people who called for help in Libyan waters were rescued and taken to Italy.

Almost 100,000 migrants fleeing from Africa have arrived in Italy so far this year, many of whom were rescued under the Mare Nostrum programme established last year.

It is believed more than 2,700 people have perished while crossing the sea between 2007 and 2013 though the exact is difficult to establish.

Last month, a boat was brought to Malta carrying 29 migrants who drowned in the lower deck of a fishing boat. They formed part of a much larger group who were rescued and taken to Italy.