Maltese authorities say they have rescued 216 migrants aboard two dinghies in distress in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta.
The migrants were rescued Friday night by the Armed Forces of Malta and are being taken to Malta where they will be examined by doctors and given the chance to seek asylum.
The Times of Malta newspaper reports that men, women and children were aboard the rubber boats. Maltese officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday morning.
Maltese officials say good weather prompted at least 12 migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean in the past two days. They say the boats left from Libya, Tunisia and Algeria.
Some 390 other migrants had arrived this year in Malta, according to the International Organization for Migration, an agency that tracks migrants. The agency says 1,445 migrants arrived in Malta last year.
