A large number of irregular migrants from Libya – including 170 women and 30 children - were in the process of being rescued yesterday evening off the island of Lampedusa, after two Italian Guardia Costiera rescue-launches reached them following a co-ordination operation handled by the Armed Forces of Malta.

According to the AFM, at around 9.15am the Italian rescue co-ordination authorities in Rome at the Commando Generale della Capitaneria di Porto notified their Maltese counterparts that a boatload of migrants was located in a position 42.4 nautical miles from Lampedusa, and 109.5 NM from Malta.

The AFM’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC Malta) at Luqa Barracks immediately managed to establish contact via satellite-phone with the migrants. Despite their claim that their boat was taking water, they proceeded steadily directly northwards to Lampedusa.

By the time the migrants’ boat had reached a position some 37NM from Lampedusa late in the morning, RCC Malta had already initiated rescue co-ordination efforts with the US Navy’s 6th Fleet Headquarters in Naples, as well as other merchant vessel shipping in the area, given that Italian rescue assets were overnight busy with migrant boat rescue operations which obliged refuelling.

Concurrently, despite the severely inclement weather in the area and the considerable distance from Malta, the AFM’s Maritime Squadron P-61 offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Diciotti-class set sail from its home-berth at Haywharf Base in Floriana. Early in the afternoon, a NATO aircraft contacted RCC Malta, having heard the AFM’s distress alert messages on VHF Marine radio about the migrants, and confirmed that their boat was still afloat and heading North. An AFM Air Wing PBN Islander was simultaneously scrambled to the area as well, successfully locating the migrants’ 20-metre boat.

By late afternoon, two Italian Guardia Costiera rescue-launches out of Lampedusa were reported to RCC Malta as heading to the migrants’ boat, with a third following. As the AFM’s P-61 POV continued steaming towards the migrants’ boat location, they were successfully intercepted by Italian rescuers around 19NM away from Lampedusa, and are now being escorted by the Italian rescuers to port.