11 feared dead after immigrant boat capsizes off Malta

Italy’s coast guard recovered the bodies of three illegal immigrants who drowned this morning after their boat capsized off Malta’s coast, officials said, and the Maltese army called off the search for eight others, who were presumed drowned, raising the death toll to 11.

Sixteen illegal migrants were rescued by an Italian fishing trawler, four of whom were in serious condition, said Sili Pigni, a spokesman for the Italian coast guard in Catania, Sicily.

The Italian coast guard joined Maltese army forces in the search, which was aided by a Maltese army helicopter.

The Maltese armed forces commander, Carmel Vassallo, and Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela told a news conference in Valletta, the Maltese capital, that the search was called off after rescue teams searching the waters found no trace of other survivors.

Italian fishermen raised the alarm at around 5:15am (4.15am Irish time) after coming upon the capsized boat and people crying for help in the sea about 40 nautical miles east of Malta.

Authorities determined that 27 people had been on the small boat before it capsized, Italian coast guard Capt. Nazareno Lagana said.

He said it appeared the boat had embarked from Tunisia. Thousands of illegal immigrants attempt to reach Italy’s coastline every year, mainly from North Africa.

It was not immediately clear how long the immigrants had been in the water, but Pigni estimated less than an hour, given the cold water temperature and relatively good condition of those rescued. The waters in the region were calm, and authorities believe the boat capsized because it was overloaded.

Malta, a tiny country which includes three inhabited islands, is 58 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean.