Five migrants die after boat capsizes during rescue off Malta’s coast
Five migrants have died after a boat that they were on had capsized during a rescue effort by the Armed Forces of Malta off the Island’s south coast.
The AFM’s Deputy Commander, Colonel Edric Zahra, told the media during a briefing outside the army’s base at Haywharf that together with those who had died, another eight individuals are receiving medical care.
Zahra said that the AFM was made aware of the boat’s presence in Maltese waters after its operations centre had received a telephone call at around 10:45am.
The boat was located around five nautical miles off the Zonqor coast, close to where a set of fish farms are situated, and was found by an AFM aircraft.
The boat was around 25 feet in length, was powered by two motors, and was populated by a large group of migrants.
Zahra said that upon confirmation of the boat’s location, a naval asset which was stationed in the area was sent to offer assistance – and it had reached the boat’s location within a few minutes.
However, Zahra said, when the rescue began, the boat had capsized, with the migrants being thrown into the water as a result.
29 migrants were rescued, with 8 of them requiring medical care, but five had died before being rescued and were lifeless when brought ashore.
21 individuals out of those rescued have been taken to the migrants centre in Ħal-Safi, Zahra said.
All of the 29 rescued were men, while one of the five who passed away was a woman, Zahra continued. Initial investigations showed that those on the boat were from
Syria, Egypt, Ghana and Eritrea.
A representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told journalists after the briefing that the boat had been at sea for three days after departing from Tripoli, Libya.
Asked about the cause of the capsizing, Zahra said that there was no impact with any other vessel, but said that the boat was very heavily loaded and that when people began to move around, it had lost stability and capsized.
“There were no impacts. As you know, these migrant boats are usually heavily loaded with people … the chances are that when people move from one place to another on it, then stability is lost. So the reason as to why the boat capsized is because it became unstable”, Zahra said.
Zahra said that police investigations are ongoing and that duty magistrate Victor Axiak is leading an inquiry. Zahra addressed the briefing as AFM Brigadier Clinton J O'Neill was abroad on work duty.
Meanwhile, the AFM's rescue efforts continued throughout Friday with naval and air assets in the area of the capsizing, and divers also operating in the sea to ensure that there was nobody else in distress.