The French Navy’s frigate Lamotte Piquet earlier this afternoon recovered 21 bodies in a position within the Libyan Search and Rescue (SAR) zone, the Armed Forces of Malta said yesterday.

And last night, 26 irregular migrants were brought to Cirkewwa at about 10pm. Up to the time of going to print, no details were divulged on how they were intercepted or where they were coming from.

Regarding the recovery of bodies, the AFM’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Malta) said it was informed at about 2pm by the French RCC that one of its warships had recovered a body from the sea earlier that morning at 11.30am.

Up to 4pm, the Lamotte Piquet had recovered up to eight bodies. RCC Malta placed itself in contact with the French frigate, and requested it to carry out a standard complete search pattern of the immediate area where the bodies had been found. The search was expected to carry on through the night.

A total of 21 bodies were reported to have been found up to the time of going to print. No information was readily available as to the identity of the recovered bodies, the AFM said.

Diplomatic efforts are currently under way between France and Libya for the French frigate to enter port and offload the said bodies.

Meanwhile, on Thursday night, at about 8.32pm, Maritime Squadron’s Swift-class patrol boat P-24 successfully intercepted a boatload of irregular migrants, some four nautical miles off Marsaxlokk Harbour.

The migrants’ boatload was made up of 21 men and six women (one of whom was pregnant).

Given the circumstances, the SAR launch Melita 2 was hastily dispatched from its base at Haywharf, Floriana to assist in the recovery operation and disembarkation at Marsaxlokk Harbour, where police immigration authorities were present to take over investigations.