An Air Malta flight from Malta to Berlin diverted to Federico Fellini airport in Rimini, Italy on Sunday afternoon because of a technical issue.

The airline said passengers have been transferred to a hotel for overnight accommodation. It said it was working on a solution to get them to their final destination, as soon as possible.

"Due to this necessary diversion KM377 from Berlin to Malta will also be rescheduled with a substantial delay," Air Malta said. Passengers are being assisted by the airline.

It apologised for the inconvenience. 

The aircraft left Malta at 2.10pm and landed safely at Rimini shortly after 4pm, having declared an emergency.

Italian media reported that the affected aircraft had been leased to Air Malta by  Danish Air Transport and carried 161 passengers. It suffered an engine issue.

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