A group of 84 migrants has been brought to Malta on a patrol boat after a night-time rescue by the Armed Forces of Malta.

The group of 77 men and seven women was rescued from a dinghy which was sinking 18 miles south of Malta.

Patrol Boat P-51 brought them to the AFM Maritime Base at about 8.45 a.m. The migrants were in good medical condition.

The group consisted mostly of Eritreans and Syrians. Informed sources said they had wanted to continue sailing North but were rescued because the sea was rough.

This is the first group of arrivals for three weeks after an influx of some 1,000 migrants in July and early this month.

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.