About 150 irregular immigrants, probably from Africa, landed in Cirkewwa (Malta) yesterday aboard a fishing boat not longer than 10 metres.
The boat was first spotted at about 3.30 p.m. a few miles offshore heading inland. An armed forces patrol boat intercepted the vessel and escorted the migrants ashore.
Their nationality has not been established although the complexion of most of them suggest they probably hail from Africa. One of them told a journalist he was an Egyptian. One of the migrants, who said he was 17-years-old, told The Times they were heading for Italy. He said they left from Libya and had been at sea for seven days. Another said they left on the same day they landed in Malta. Both claims seem unlikely.
The fact that all the illegal immigrants looked fresh and in good health belied the possibility that they had been at sea for a week. Save for a few, most seemed to be clean shaven and wore relatively clean clothes.
On the other hand, given the rough sea, the size and type of the boat and the extreme load it is highly unlikely they could have made it to Malta in a day. Army sources told The Times they suspected the boat may have been towed by a larger fishing vessel for a considerable stretch of the way. "They are in too good a condition to have crossed over from Libya on that boat," an officer, who preferred not to be named, said.
Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said in Parliament on Monday there was clearly a criminal organisation behind the transport of migrants that made it to Malta over the past days.
The number of migrants in detention centres is close to 1,700.
Over 300 migrants will be housed in tents because the Safi facilities are full to capacity. Records, army sources explained, show that this is a peak month for immigration before the lull, which lasts roughly throughout the winter.
Source: Times of Malta
