The group – 29 males, one female and a baby – were first spotted by a Maltese fishing boat which saw that the immigrants were in difficulty and began to tow the vessel from about 66 nautical miles southeast of Delimara Point.

The AFM Operations Centre was alerted at about 6.10pm that the fishing boat was towing the six-metre vessel with 31 people on board. The fishermen told the AFM that the boat had ran out of fuel.

Two AFM patrol boats, the Melita 2 and P 24, were dispatched to take custody of the immigrants, who were recovered and transported to Hay Wharf.

Initial investigations revealed that the immigrants hailed from Ivory Coast, Congo and Mali. They are being accommodated at the AFM Safi barracks. Police are investigating.