Seventy-one would-be immigrants perish off Malta: survivors

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

VALLETTA (AFP) — Seventy would-be illegal African immigrants to Europe perished when their boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea, according to eight companions rescued Wednesday off Malta, officials said.

If their tale is confirmed, it would be one of the worst such incidents ever recorded off Malta, a target destination for Africans trying to reach Europe in often-flimsy watercraft.

The survivors were plucked out of the water by a Maltese fishing vessel, the Madonna di Pompei, from a semi-submerged dinghy 70 kilometres (40 nautical miles) off Malta, then transferred to a military patrol boat.

An Armed Forces of Malta twin-engine Islander patrol aircraft went out to the area to look for other survivors, but none were found.

It earlier emerged during...