The arrival of a boatload of migrants which went unnoticed until it reached land was an “exception” and only took place because the army’s assets were deployed on other rescue operations, according to a spokesman.

He was replying to questions by Times of Malta following the arrival of a vessel with over 100 migrants at Delimara on August 4.

The large, white dinghy entered the Delimara port accompanied by two civilian boats rather than army vessels, as is usually the case.

There were 86 men, 16 women and 10 children on board, including a 17-day-old baby.

A family of three boys, a girl and their mother and father were taken to hospital in an ambulance, with the children suffering from dehydration.

The police and the army were alerted about the arrival only as the migrants were approaching land, as fishermen and people having barbecues looked on.

“You may wish to note that when the migrant dinghy was approaching Delimara, the AFM’s aero-maritime assets were engaged in another very delicate case some 30 miles off Malta involving a dinghy with over 90 people on board.

“The dinghy eventually entered the Italian search and rescue region and the AFM handed over responsibility to the Italian Coast Guard the following morning,” he said, when asked for an explanation on why the migrant boat had gone unnoticed until it approached land.

“This year alone, RCC Malta acted on over 400 search and rescue and border control cases, 138 of which as coordinators. It is therefore clear that the incident, albeit unfortunate, was an exception,” he said.

He added that the Armed Forces continued to do its utmost “within means and capabilities”, to secure Malta’s borders and save lives at sea.

“The AFM also remains committed to be in a better position to monitor assets and control its maritime border,” the army spokesman said.