A group of 51 mainly African undocumented immigrants who have been moored off Malta for five days will be taken in by several countries, reports said on Thursday.
Spanish reports said Spain would take 15, Libya and Italy 10 each and Andorra and Malta eight each of the migrants who were rescued by a Spanish fishing vessel from a boat that was adrift and had run out of food.
Maltese reports, however, mentioned only that Spain was sending a military aircraft to pick up most of the immigrants, who were stuck in open seas on board the Spanish trawler in a political and legal limbo.
Malta refused to accept the migrants, arguing that they were picked up closer to Libyan ports and fully outside the island’s search-and-rescue zone.
Spanish police experts identified 45 of the immigrants as Eritreans, who could request political asylum on the basis of their country’s conflict with Ethiopia.
Five were Moroccans who were expected to be repatriated by Spain. The migrants also included a Pakistani, whose fate was unclear.
The Maltese authorities have flown food and water to the 42 men, eight women and a child as well as the 11 Spanish crew on board MS Francisco y Catalina.
A pregnant woman and a mother and her infant who were transported to Malta to receive medical attention on Tuesday afternoon will remain on the island for the time being.
Maltese Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said Malta stood its ground in the affair and its stand has been vindicated.
In the meantime, another 25 illegal immigrants landed in Malta early on Thursday morning, bringing the total number of landings this month on the tiny Mediterranean island to 260. — Sapa-dpa