A group of migrants who had been stranded inside the Maltese search and rescue area have been taken back to Tripoli, the Libya branch of the International Organisation for Migration said.
According to NGOs, four migrant boats had been stranded at sea between Malta and Libya. Both Italy and Malta have closed their ports due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
IOM Libya said that the migrants were picked up by a merchant vessel on Tuesday night and were later handed over to the Libyan coastguard. On Wednesday afternoon, the migrants were given permission to disembark in the Libyan capital, the group said.
Apart from the 47 migrants, the coast guard also picked up five bodies from the water.
On Saturday, NGO Alarm Phone reported that it had lost contact with the migrant boats and feared that one of them had capsized. Frontex later said this was not the case.
A number of merchant ships had refused to pick up the migrants.
A number of Maltese NGOs said: "We are left deeply saddened and angered at news of the death of migrants at sea and at the illegal push-back of the survivors to Libya. Malta was legally and morally responsible for protecting the lives of those who requested help whilst in our national waters. Instead, the Government chose to play political games, resulting in needless and cruel loss of life. This is a terrible day for Malta, for human rights and for our nation's legacy."
AFM's role
In a statement, the government said the Malta Rescue and Coordination Centre coordinated the rescue of an immigrant boat that left Libya and, after a few days in Libyan waters, entered Malta's Search and Rescue Area.
It is unclear whether the government was referring to the same vessel that returned to Tripoli, although it said that the migrants were eventually picked up by a Libyan fishing vessel.
"The boat in question had already been in distress for a number of days while in Libya's Search and Rescue Area, not in Malta's SAR. The European Union was aware of the boat as it was located in Libya's Search and Rescue Area. The EU flew its aircrafts over the area but did not send any vessels to pick up the migrants," the government said.
"The Malta Rescue and Coordination Centre immediately followed the established coordination procedures once the boat was in Malta's SAR/SRR and communicated the necessary information through what is known as NAVTEX. The Armed Forces of Malta also made a number of flights to pinpoint where this boat was located, as soon as it was reported to be in Malta's SAR. During one of these flights, the boat's exact location was established and the AFM called nearby vessels to assist. In fact, the migrants were assisted by a commercial vessel, which was dispatched to the location of the boat for assistance. Later, a Libyan fishing vessel took the migrants on board."
During this time, the Armed Forces of Malta was also coordinating four other similar cases on its own, the statement read.
"While Malta is still engaged in coordination work related to migrant boats, the Government of Malta continues to reiterate the need for the European Union to launch a humanitarian mission in Libya so that people no longer continue to risk their lives trying to flee the country.
The Government of Malta remains committed to continue its fight against migrant smuggling and against those who continue to facilitate irregular travel."
Civil society group takes government to court
In another development, civil society group Repubblika has taken the government to court over its decision to close the ports to migrant vessels.
In a judicial protest, Repubblika said the Cabinet should face criminal action over the decision to close the ports and ignore people in distress at sea.
It said the decision lacked humanity and did not respect human rights and international obligations.
The protest was signed by lawyers Andrew Borg Cardona, Eve Borg Costanzi, Jason Azzopardi, Paul Borg Olivier and Joseph Ellis.