Another 266 irregular immigrants were last night being brought over to shore by the Armed Forces of Malta.

Early yesterday morning, the AFM Operations Centre was informed that a large boat full of irregular immigrants some 60 nautical miles south of Malta was anchored with a tuna net line being towed by a tug boat. An Islander fixed wing plane was sent on site to assess the situation, the AFM said in a statement.

Offshore Patrol Vessel P61 was also sent on site to assist as necessary. The immigrants initially refused assistance since they intended to proceed towards Italy but the boat was encountering mechanical problems, the AFM added. After various hours of negotiations a helicopter with an army medical officer was sent to assist and evaluate their medical conditions. Although at first it was reported that their might be a dead person on board, it transpired that only medical assistance for dehydrated persons was required.

Eventually AFM personnel persuaded the occupants of the boat to accept their assistance and were thus taken onboard P61. At the end 266, including three women, all in good health, were embarked and rescued by the AFM. The immigrants are from Morocco and Egypt.

Patrol Craft P61 was last night heading to Hay Wharf. These immigrants were to be handed over to the immigration police for further investigation.