Malta

Two babies "critical" after immigrants' boat capsizes off Malta

Ten would-be immigrants feared dead off Malta Valletta, Malta - Two infants were flown Tuesday by helicopter to Malta's general hospital after they were rescued from a shipwreck involving would-be immigrants.

The pair, whose condition was described as "critical" by officials, were part of a group whose boat capsized some 60 nautical miles south of Malta.

The exact number of would-be immigrants involved in the shipwreck was not immediately known, officials said.

Maltese anger mounts over Africa's sad migrant flow

Valletta, Malta - A headline streams across The Times of Malta's online news portal: "Search is on for 70 missing migrants."

That was on August 27. There has since been no sign of the group despite an extensive search by two German helicopters and a Maltese army maritime squadron, part of the European Union's border patrol agency Frontex.

The 70 disappeared when they were swept off a flimsy craft which capsized after it left Libya, according to eight fellow-travellers who managed to cling onto the vessel long enough to be rescued.

It is one of the worst tragedies involving would-be immigrants in the Mediterranean - yet the Maltese newspaper's online readers' forum offered little, if any, compassion.

Cemetery expansion in Malta leads to discovery of Bronze Age remains

Ten would-be immigrants feared dead off Malta Valletta (Malta), September 1 : A cluster of five silos dating back to the Bronze Age period were recently discovered by archeologists during excavation work in Malta, forming part of a project to extend the Luqa cemetery.

According to a report in The Malta Independent, the finding was made by Themistocles (Temi) Zammit, who had discovered, among others, the Hypogeum, Tarxien Temples, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, and St Paul’s Catacombs.

Five bodies recovered from sea as Malta immigrant search continues

Valletta - Five bodies have been found off Malta so far as rescuers continue with their search following one of the worst disasters involving would-be illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean.

A Maltese patrol boat and two German helicopters are continuing their search in an area between 50 and 40 nautical miles south of Malta.

Eight survivors from a half-sunken dinghy told the Maltese authorities that the boat on which they were trying to reach Europe had set off from Libya with 79 people aboard. After their engine stopped, they spent the next days adrift in heavy seas as their numbers gradually dwindled.

Maltese asked to broaden search after refugee sea tragedy

Malta MapValletta, Malta  - The UN refugee agency asked the Maltese authorities Thursday to broaden the search for those missing in what is believed to be one of the deadliest incidents involving would-be illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean.

In a statement, the UNHCR urged the Maltese authorities to provide medical care to eight African migrants rescued in an incident which is believed to have left at least 70 people missing and feared dead.

Around 70 migrants feared drowned off Malta

Valletta, Malta - Two rescue helicopters on Thursday were searching for as many as 70 illegal migrants reported missing off Malta.

They were reported missing by eight of their companions who were found floating on a half-submerged dinghy some 40 miles south of the Mediterranean island.

Initially there was some confusion about the number of missing migrants, with the survivors telling a fishermen who rescued them that they were in a group of 18. The number was revised late Wednesday after a top official from the UN Commission for Refugees interviewed the survivors.

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