A 23-year-old woman who "disappeared" while swimming this morning has been found "safe and sound", the police said.

The woman, who is from the Czech Republic, was swimming at Ghajn Tuffieha with a 22-year-old Maltese man at around 4am.

The man, who reported her missing, told the police he went ashore to get a towel from his car and the woman had disappeared by the time he returned.

The woman told the police the waves threw her onto a rocky shore. She walked for sometime and eventually stopped someone and asked for assistance. She was taken to the bus stop where she got to know that the police and the army were searching for her.

The search was conducted by the Mosta police and the Armed Forces of Malta.