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.

While Italy, Malta, Spain and the Netherlands have refused to accept the Sea-Watch 3 migrants, several German cities have offered to take them in.

On Saturday a government spokesman, however, said Germany would only accept some of the migrants if other European countries also agreed to do so.

Last week, a newborn baby and his mother were helicoptered from a boat to Malta

More than 1,300 migrants have perished trying to reach Italy or Malta since the beginning of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Songs and toys for Indonesia's disaster-zone kids
Labuhan, Indonesia (AFP) Dec 27, 2018
Via Sundari Octavia keeps a watchful eye on her small children as they sing and dance - part of a trauma healing programme for kids displaced by Indonesia's deadly tsunami. Octavia was with dozens of parents lining the edge of a futsal pitch turned evacuation shelter in the town of Labuan Thursday, where relief workers played games with children to take their minds off the disaster. The 30-year-old, her husband and three children - two sons aged three and five and a baby boy - survived the ki ... read more