MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2020) The Maltese military on Friday rescued 63 migrants from a sinking boat in the Mediterranean sea and brought them ashore, the Times of Malta newspaper reported, citing a spokeswoman of the country's armed forces.
According to the newspaper, migrants contacted Alarm Phone, a non-governmental organization that offers a hotline service for people stranded at sea, on Thursday. The NGO then alerted Italian and Maltese authorities but got no response.
Following a series of pleas from the NGO throughout Thursday evening, the Maltese military eventually confirmed that migrants were rescued and taken to Malta.
Alarm Phone said that the Maltese authorities were being silent about the mission and they had to learn about the rescued migrants from the media.
The so-called Mediterranean route is one of the most popular, but also the most dangerous tracks of irregular migration to the European continent. Migrants risk their lives embarking upon a sea passage on unsafe, decrepit boats not designed for such long transfers and often operated by smugglers.
