An influx of irregular immigrants made it to the northern shores of the Mediterranean yesterday, with 48 migrants landing in Malta and a staggering 300 reaching the Sicilian and Lampedusian shores.

The Armed Forces of Malta have been patrolling since Tuesday for boats with irregular migrants, following a number of reports they received suggesting that boats with would-be immigrants on board were heading north, presumably after leaving from North Africa.

Two boats were recovered from Ghar Lapsi at approximately five nautical miles off Delimara, with 28 (24 men, 4 women) and 20 people (19 men, one woman) aboard respectively. The immigrants were handed over to the police for investigation.

Meanwhile the Associated Press reported the landing of some 300 immigrants in Sicily and Lampedusa, bringing the total number of arrivals on Sicilian coasts to more than 856 over the last two days, a port official said.

The latest boat to arrive on the tiny island of Lampedusa was carrying 186 people, including 20 women and one child, said Francesco Ansaldi, a port official in Palermo, Sicily.

Another boat was intercepted carrying 124 people. Approaching the port, two of the group jumped overboard in an attempt to escape, but were recovered by authorities, Ansaldi added. Among those who arrived between Tuesday and yesterday were immigrants who identified themselves as being from North Africa, Pakistan and Iraq.

In a separate incident, three Maltese men feared missing aboard a small boat were intercepted some 30 nautical miles south of Dingli. The boat was located by the AFM’s aircraft and the three men were escorted back with the patrol boat.