A boatload crammed with 227 illegal migrants berthed at Wied il-Buni fishermen's quay in Birżebbuġa yesterday.

The boat arrived at about 12.30 p.m., with immigrants mainly from Somalia, and mostly male, except for 22 women and two young children.

The army's observation post at Delimara sighted the boat at 11 a.m. as it approached Bengħajsa, close to the gas-bunkering tank area. Patrol and rescue boats were immediately sent to the area to investigate. A helicopter was also deployed to assess the situation. It was noted that, although the immigrants lacked life-jackets, their overall state of health was generally good.

Immigration police and members of the detention services were waiting for the boatload when it landed at Wied il-Buni.

A group of 262 immigrants on board a large wooden boat, landed in Marsaxlokk on February 1. Thirty-five of these have already been sent back to Egypt.

A month earlier, a group of 162 immigrants were rescued in rough seas after they sent a distress signal to the armed forces from a position 59 nautical miles south of Malta.

Since January, there were several disturbances at the Safi detention centre where a number of Somalis protested over their detention conditions.

Italy is also facing a similar situation with the foreign press reporting a clash between migrants and the army after several tried to escape from a centre in Lampedusa. Last year, over 31,700 migrants landed in Lampedusa, an increase of 75 per cent over 2007.