A migrant emergency hotline is urging European authorities to rescue 29 people in distress in Maltese waters.

On Monday morning Alarm Phone said two boats with people "escaping from Libya" were in distress in deteriorating weather conditions.

The hotline later said it had lost contact with one of the boats carrying 34 people.

People on the second boat said they had spotted cargo ships nearby, but by 4pm they had not yet been rescued.

Alarm Phone said the 29 people aboard this second boat were now in the Maltese search-and-rescue area. 

They reported big waves around their vessel with the situation becoming "very dangerous".

"The people need to be rescued either by EU authorities or by nearby vessels," Alarm Phone urged.

The Luqa Met Office has issued a yellow warning, saying the east-southeast wind will be strong at times over the exposed areas of the Maltese islands on Monday late afternoon.

Wind and rain are also forecast for Tuesday in Malta.

Times of Malta sent questions to the Armed Forces of Malta and the Home Affairs Ministry.

Over the past years there have been several claims of Malta’s failure to assist migrants at risk, with the island being involved in a controversial operation in 2020 to return people to war-torn Libya.

In 2021, the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency flagged Malta’s “intensified efforts” to stop asylum seekers from disembarking on the island.

More recently, senior Italian politician Tommaso Foti hinted at growing tensions between Italy and Malta about the issue. Maltese authorities deny the existence of any plan to systematically ignore rescue calls.

It is estimated that Malta ignored calls of distress and failed to rescue around 7,459 people in distress at sea in its search-and-rescue zone. Malta was also accused of being involved in 14 pushbacks of a total of 789 people.

In a recent interview with Times of Malta, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said the Maltese authorities’ efforts at sea were “critical” in defending European borders.

 

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