Eight foreign divers were rescued off Ċirkewwa on Friday afternoon after getting into difficulty.

The Malta Red Cross, Armed Forces of Malta and Civil Protection Department were involved in a joint search and rescue operation.

Five divers were initially located and brought safely ashore. They then alerted emergency services that three other members of their group were still missing.

A search operation continued until the remaining three divers were located and brought ashore.

Sources close to the rescue operation told Times of Malta that the sea was "very rough", with strong currents pushing the divers away from the shore.

All eight divers were assessed by a medical team from Mater Dei Hospital and were discharged at the scene.