Malta To Accept Spanish Fishing Boat With 11 Migrants On Board - Statement

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2018) A Spanish fishing vessel with 11 migrants on board, which was drifting 10 days off the coast of Libya, is heading for Malta that will accept the ship, the Spanish authorities said on Sunday in a statement.

On November 22, 12 migrants tried to escape from the Libyan patrol and were taken by the Nuestra Senora de Loreto ship 90 miles from the coast of Libya. Italy, Malta and Spain initially refused to accept the vessel with Madrid having insisted that the ship must head for the nearby Libyan port. However, the migrants on board of the ship refused to return back to the northern African state.

One of the migrants, who was in a critical condition, was evacuated from the ship with a helicopter.

"The Spanish government says that the European migration policy must be common and reminds that all of us have to comply with the international and EU legislation," the Spanish authorities said adding that the Nuestra Senora de Loreto vessel would be accepted by Malta.

The European Union has been experiencing a large-scale migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in their home countries in the middle East and North Africa.