A team of divers commissioned by Heritage Malta has removed abandoned fishing nets from the wreckage of a wartime B24 Liberator bomber which lies on the seabed south west of Malta.

The American four-engined bomber had ditched after developing engine trouble during a bombing raid on Reggio Calabria in May 1943. It had taken off from North Africa and just failed to make an emergency landing in Malta.

Nine of its 10-men crew survived but one remained missing.

The removal of the nets was carried out in collaboration with the ATLAM Dive Club.

The area where the wreckage lies, in a relatively good state at a depth of 55 metres, is an official Heritage Malta site.

Heritage Malta said that 'ghost gear' - mostly fishing nets and traps - constitute 10% of plastic waste in the sea. Apart from maritime pollution, the nets also constituted a danger to divers. 

Similar operations to remove fishing gear are also being made on other historic sites.