Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has met the members of the Armed Forces of Malta who were involved in Friday’s rescue of some 150 migrants after their boat capsized.

The incident happened some 60 miles south of Lampedusa and 118 miles away from Malta.

The soldiers involved lined up in the courtyard of the Auberge de Castille, where Dr Muscat greeted them and chatted with them informally.

They included the crews of two patrol boats, flight crews and shore-based personnel who coordinated the rescue, in which Italian air and navy units were also involved.

Dr Muscat thanked the soldiers, describing them as “Europe’s heroes”.

He said he wished to thank those involved in the rescue on Friday and those involved in other rescues over the years, saying they were working unceasingly to save hundreds of lives.

Last Friday’s rescue, he said, had earned Malta international admiration.

He said the government was working to ensure that Malta was not left alone. A bigger commitment was needed from Europe. Europe needed a concrete plan of how to tackle the immigration issue, but so far he had not seen any positive signs, Dr Muscat said.

The prime minister said Libya needed to be seen as part of the solution to this problem and the EU therefore needed to heed its requests.