Two women, a young man and four children were brought to shore yesterday by the Armed Forces of Malta rescue launch Melita after their boat was spotted by a Maltese fisherman near Filfla.

The AFM said that at around 6.15pm, a Maltese fisherman phoned the Maritime Squadron and informed them that there was a boat carrying irregular migrants near Filfla.

The AFM immediately dispatched patrol boats P24 and P51. There were 21 men, five women and four children on board the boat. The AFM said that while two women, a young man and four children asked to board an AFM vessel and come to Malta, the rest insisted on continuing with their journey.

The Melita, which had also been dispatched to the location of the irregular migrants, brought the seven to shore at Haywharf, at around 10pm.