75 stranded migrants to be brought to Malta

Some 75 migrants are expected to be brought to Malta on Wednesday after their dinghy was spotted on the sea some 88km south of Malta by an aircraft of the Armed Forces of Malta, local media reported. The all-male group of migrants on a dinghy had no life jackets. A rescue operation coordinated by the Maltese forces is currently underway. It is reported that the dinghy is being shadowed by a cargo tanker, however, the captain claims that he cannot take them aboard because the vessel is too high. Malta is the closest safe port of call, though security forces are coordinating the rescue mission with the Italian navy who have a vessel around seven miles from the dinghy. The migrants are expected to be brought to Malta in a matter of hours. A group of 147 people was brought to Malta last Saturday after a heavily overloaded boat with more than 200 migrants capsized. At least 33 people reportedly died.