Early on Thursday morning, a group of immigrants, part of whom were on the Sea Watch III and Albrecht Penck and the others who disembarked in Malta following their rescue by the Armed Forces of Malta at the end of December, departed from Malta to be relocated in France.

The immigrants were assisted by the local authorities, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) authorities, and officials from the Embassy of France in Malta, a government statement said.

These relocation processes are the result of an ad hoc agreement struck between the European Commission, Malta, and other EU Members States, following the Sea Watch III and Albrecht Penck saga in early January of this year.