Valletta, Malta- Twenty six shipwrecked would-be immigrants were brought to Malta on Friday morning following an overnight rescue operation from a tuna pen in the Mediterranean Sea.

One man from the group was still missing and a search was underway to find him, Maltese army officials said.

The migrants, described as Africans by the officials, were crammed in a boat which capsized on Thursday in choppy seas near an Italian fishing vessel which was towing a tuna pen 52 nautical miles south of Malta.

The 26 clung to the tuna-pen before they were hauled on board the Italian vessel, the Gambero, which was involved in a similar rescue operation last Sunday.

The group of would-be immigrants, who are believed to have departed from Libya, included an infant child and a woman who reportedly miscarried when their boat capsized.

During the overnight rescue, a helicopter from a nearby French navy frigate lowered medical personnel onto the Gambero to assist the migrants, particularly a man who was in poor condition after having swallowed a quantity of seawater. The shipwreck was the third to take place over the past week close to tuna pens in the Mediterranean.

Recent fine weather has prompted hundreds of Africans, many fleeing poverty and other hardships at home, to attempt sea-crossings to reach the shores of Europe.

On Monday, Egyptian officials said they believed at least 150 would-be immigrants drowned two weeks ago when their boat capsized off the Libyan coast, south of Malta.

Similar journeys are undertaken every year, often in ramshackle vessels which can capsize with fatal results.

Malta, which has been grappling with the problem of illegal immigration for more than a decade, has renewed appeals to other European Union member states for assistance. (dpa)