69 migrants rescued off Malta: navy

VALLETTA: A group of 69 migrants on a rickety wooden boat were rescued Sunday off Malta, the navy said, while 49 more were still at sea waiting for a country to allow them to dock. The migrants sent out a distress call 117 nautical miles southwest of Malta and a Maltese navy vessel was sent to their aid, a statement said. Meanwhile, the German NGO Sea-Eye said its rescue ship was responding to a report of another boat in difficulty with 24 migrants on board. The German-flagged ship already has 17 migrants from West Africa on board who were rescued on Saturday in international waters off the coast of Libya. At the same time, the Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch said it already had 32 migrants rescued on December 22 including three young children, three unaccompanied adolescents and four women from Nigeria, Libya and Ivory Coast.