The first call for assistance came from the Maltese fishing vessel Madre Teresa early in the morning. A crewmember had a large fishing hook embedded in his hand and needed urgent medical treatment.

An AFM Alouette helicopter was immediately dispatched to the vessel, which was approximately 40 nautical miles SSW of Malta. The injured crewman was safely winched aboard the aircraft and taken directly to Saint Luke’s Hospital where he received treatment from medical staff.

The second operation involved a search about 30 nautical miles SE of Malta. An AFM Islander aircraft transiting the area spotted floating wreckage of what appeared to be a fishing boat. An immediate search in the area was carried out by both AFM air and maritime assets.

Rescue coordination centres in Rome, Tunisia and Libya were immediately alerted. AFM patrol boat P51 managed to identify the floating debris as coming from a small fishing boat which had probably sunk quite some time ago. There were no further significant sightings in the area. However, commercial shipping has been asked to keep a sharp lookout while transiting the area.

A third operation was launched in response to a message received from the Italian fishing vessel Valeria which stated that, in a position 60 nautical miles SE of Malta, she had come across 30 third country nationals adrift in a small five-metre craft. The craft’s outboard engine had stopped due to lack of fuel.

After the exact position was verified by an AFM Islander aircraft, patrol vessel P51 was dispatched to the scene and rescued the persons, all of whom were males. P51 disembarked all persons at Maritime Squadron, Haywharf and they have been taken into police custody.

A police report later said that the 30 illegal immigrants were aged between 20 and 43, and all came from Somalia. They were taken to the Safi Barracks.