The Armed Forces of Malta were still searching last night for an overloaded boat of irregular migrants that was drifting in rough seas with a non-functioning engine and rapidly taking on water.
At 6am yesterday morning, the AFM’s Rescue Coordination Centre at Luqa Barracks was informed by a local resident African national that a small fibreglass boat, carrying an estimated 53 people, was in distress some 88 nautical miles south of Malta. The AFM were able to make contact with the boat as one of the passengers had a satellite telephone, and the P-61 offshore patrol boat left Haywharf and proceeded at full steam to try and locate the boat.
At 9.30am the Air Wing’s long-range search aircraft PBN Islander was sent to the area.
The aerial search was hampered by poor visibility in the area, with a cloud base of less than 800 feet. However, the crew spotted the boat and visually confirmed that there were 53 people on the boat, some of whom were wearing life jackets.
It was not known whether there were any children or pregnant women on board.
After flying over the boat for more than two hours, the aircraft returned to base for refuelling before returning to the area later in the afternoon.
The P-61 was expected to make contact with the boat at around 6pm, with guidance from the Islander aircraft, which was back in the area of the boat’s last known position by 4.15pm and immediately began an aerial search. Visibility in the area had improved but the sea state had worsened to force 5.
After a further four hours searching the area, the Islander had to again return to Malta for fuel and the aerial search was postponed until dawn this morning. The P-61 is continuing to search throughout the night in the hope that contact can be re-established.
Emergency contingency plans for the migrants’ arrival at Haywharf have been drawn up by the police, St Luke’s Hospital and the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry’s Detention Service.
The AFM patrol boat made physical contact with the boat yesterday evening and was overflown by the PBN Islander for guidance assistance.
The Italian media reported yesterday that a call for assistance had been made by one of the passengers who had a satellite telephone in his possession.
The passenger was said to have informed a relative in Bergamo, Italy of the boat’s plight.