Malta Takes In 106 Migrants Who Were Found In Its Search And Rescue Zone
A group of 106 migrants landed in Malta this morning after the army picked them up from a boat in the island’s search and rescue zone, a spokesperson for the Armed Forces of Malta confirmed with Lovin Malta.
Several migrants have been crossing the Mediterranean from war-torn Libya in recent weeks and 533 were brought to Malta in January alone, according to official figures by the UN’s Refugee Agency. The migration trend has continued this month, with 115 people brought ashore on Friday.
Alarm Phone, an information hotline for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, has been keeping the world informed of latest developments on its Twitter page and has regularly criticised the Maltese authorities for not sharing information about its rescue operations.
At night we were alerted by a boat in distress in #Malta SAR, with 97 people who fled the war zone of #Libya. We informed the Maltese authorities, but have not received info about any rescue activities. We lost contact to the people several hours ago. We hope they are safe! pic.twitter.com/7OhWdtRKzy
— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) February 18, 2020