Migrants – and a dog – reach Malta after long wait at sea

A military ship took 58 migrants – and a dog – to Malta on Sunday, where they disembarked after spending several days waiting for seas to calm so they could be transferred from charity rescue ship Aquarius.

The migrants were rescued from two small boats off the coast of Libya at least a week ago. They include Libyans, Syrians, Palestinians, Somalis and Pakistanis. Among them are seven families and three children younger than five.

The Aquarius spent five days off the coast of Malta waiting for weather to improve so it could transfer the migrants to a Maltese cutter.

Panama withdrew the Aquarius’s registration amid the rescue operations, which means the ship will not legally be allowed to sail once it comes to shore until it resolves its flag status.

The Aquarius was the last charity rescue ship operating off of Libya. Last year, there were five groups running rescue ships.

Among the migrants was a small, white dog, rescued along with her Libyan family. Brought ashore in a carrier box, she will be quarantined and examined.

France, Portugal, Spain and Germany struck a deal on Tuesday to take in the migrants who disembarked in Malta after Italy refused to let the vessel dock.

Up to 650,000 people have reached Italian shores from North Africa since 2014, and Rome’s populist government, is now taking a rigidly antiimmigration line, saying it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless other EU states agree to take in people.

The UN’s refugee agency on Sunday thanked the countries that resolved the stand-off.