More “illegal immigrants”, Including Eritreans, Rescued off Malta

(Taken from Maltese online Di-ve news)

Statistics show migrant arrivals have tripled this year

LUQA, Malta (di-ve news)--June 15, 2007 - 0920CEST-- As statistics thus far for this year show that migrant arrivals have tripled when compared to the same period last year, the AFM continues its missions of mercy out on the high seas of the Mediterranean, as at around midnight its P-51 Protector-class patrol boat landed 43 migrants and a corpse recovered to the South of Malta.

The Luqa Barracks based Rescue and Co-Ordination Centre (RCC Malta) was notified by its counterpart station RCC Rome at 1055CEST yesterday morning that a rubber dinghy was bearing on Malta with and estimated 40 persons onboard.

Whilst Maritime Squadron's Protector-class patrol boat P-51 was dispatched from its base at Haywharf, Floriana, an Air Wing Islander search and surveillance aircraft was immediately scrambled at 1150CEST into the air, and initiated a search in the indicated area at 1235CEST.

By 1254CEST, a positive sighting was made some 58 nautical miles south-west of Malta, and P-51 intercepted the migrants rubber dinghy by 1524CEST.

All the 43 migrants (including 2 women) were found in good health; they claimed to be from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Somalia and Eritrea and that their desired intention was to head further north to Italy. Subsequently, they requested to be rescued.

In a separate, near concurrent case, the AFM Operations' Centre was informed by RCC Madrid that a small boat with one corpse was adrift some 139 nautical miles south-east of Malta. The Diciotti-class P-61 offshore patrol vessel was already patrolling in the area, some 19 nautical miles away from the assigned target area. Whilst enroute, at 1510CEST P61 located and recovered a corpse with a lifejacket and in an advanced state of decomposition.

"Melita 1" fast Search-and-Rescue launch was dispatched to transfer the recovered corpse from P61's location, and returned to Haywharf Base at 2140CEST.