A group of 83 migrants were saved by an AFM patrol boat this morning and were taken in at Haywharf Base at 3.45 p.m.

The AFM said that an aircraft on patrol sighted the dinghy that was carrying the migrants some 14 nautical miles south west of Malta.

The army immediately diverted a patrol vessel to the area, which located the dinghy that was drifting and unable to manoeuvre, so that patrol boat took the migrants - 71 men and 12 women, four claiming to be pregnant, onboard.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.