News | Sunday, 26 July 2009

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Migrants land, nine smuggled in container via Catamaran

Karl Stagno-Navarra
For the second time this month, another group of Somali migrants have managed to reach Maltese shores undetected.
44 migrants – including two women – landed with their tattered dinghy in Marsaskala in the early hours of yesterday only to be spotted by campers close to the former Jerma Hotel site, who informed the police and immediately coordinated with the Armed Forces that sent a patrol boat to the area.
The migrants allegedly reported to have left Libya four days before, and had thrown the body of one of them overboard after having succumbed to sunstroke.
The group was escorted by police to Ta’ Kandja detention centre for identification and processing before being transferred to a detention centre.
Yesterday’s arrival was the second in the span of two weeks when 28 migrants, also Somalis, landed in St. Thomas Bay also in Marsaskala.
While the AFM maritime squadron continues to patrol the South of Malta as part of the Frontex ‘Nautilus IV’ mission, a state-of-the-art aircraft commissioned by the Luxembourg airforce is scheduled to arrive in Malta tomorrow to team up with German police Puma helicopters that are also contributing to the multi-million Euro mission.
But as Malta continues to strengthen its net around the islands, more migrants are attempting to escape from Malta, this time by using the Catamaran.
Italian police have last Thursday reportedly caught nine migrants that had recently escaped from detention in Malta hidden inside a freezer container on board the Virtù Ferries catamaran on arrival in Pozzallo. The migrants were immediately repatriated to Malta.

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.

All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.

EDITORIAL


Taking the fall

INTERVIEW