Valetta, Malta - At least one person was injured Monday during clashes at a migrant detention centre in Malta, officials said.

An undisclosed number of would-be immigrants fled from the centre during the disturbances, in which rioters also started several fires, the officials said. Reporters saw one detainee being carried toward a waiting ambulance. Information on the person's condition was not immediately available.

The two hour-long rampage was brought under control following the intervention of riot police backed by military reinforcements, officials said.

Activists have repeatedly denounced what they say are overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at migrant detention centres in Malta.

Earlier this month, the international relief group, Medecins Sans Frontiers, said it had suspended its operations at the centres to protest conditions there. (dpa)