Seventy-three migrants have been brought to Malta after their dinghy was intercepted near Malta this morning.

The dinghy was intercepted by an AFM patrol boat after having been located by a helicopter some 32 nautical miles south of Malta.

It appeared to be adrift in relatively heavy seas and strong winds.

The migrants - 22 women and 51 men - were transferred to the patrol boat which is due in Malta later this afternoon.

A further 93 migrants arrived within the space of a few hours last week.

Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici warned on Sunday that Malta should prepare itself for a “challenging summer”.

“We were expecting this... We are under no illusions and we have to be prepared to work to handle the influx,” Dr Mifsud Bonnici told The Sunday Times.

He insisted, however, there was no cause for alarm.

Until the Libyan government regained stability and reorganised itself, difficulties such as patrolling the coast would remain, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

He added that ahead of its election in June, immigration was not a main concern for Libya.

The Libyan Foreign Minister, speaking in Rome on Sunday also warned that a deteriorating security situation in the south of Libya was making it likely that immigrant crossings would rise.