Nineteen migrants were rescued and brought to Malta after an ordeal at sea on Saturday night, the Armed Forces of Malta said.

The Malta Rescue Coordination Centre said the 19 migrants had departed Libya on a fibreglass boat and ended up in distress within Malta's search and rescue region some 50 nautical miles south of the island.

The Maltese centre was informed of the boat by their Rome counterparts and the Libyan coast guard when it was still in Libya's search and rescue zone.

An AFM maritime patrol aircraft and a patrol vessel were dispatched to locate the boat.

After a while, the boat ended up in distress, the army said in a statement. Shortly after the migrants were provided with life jackets by the AFM patrol vessel, it capsized.

Seventeen migrants were rescued immediately by the AFM while a search for two reportedly missing was conducted by means of the army's air and naval assets.

The two missing migrants were eventually located and rescued on board the AFM patrol vessel. On board were 17 males, a pregnant woman, and a child. All migrants are now in good health, the AFM said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat first divulged the rescue at the end of his press conference on the Egrant inquiry. 

The rescue was carried out by the AFM. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier