Malta refuses to accept 90 migrants rescued by Italian coastguard vessel

Malta refused on Tuesday to accept 90 migrants rescued by an Italian coastguard vessel in its search and rescue zone, setting up a potential standoff with the new Italian government, Reuters reported.

The Italian coastguard said on Tuesday it had picked up the migrants from a sinking boat off Libya at the request of the Maltese rescue coordination center. The vessel was taking the migrants to Maltese waters, but Malta had refused to send a vessel to transfer them, according to the statement.

Malta has repeatedly insisted that migrants should be taken to the closest safe harbor, which in this case was the Italian island of Lampedusa. Next week, Malta will host a meeting of European Union interior ministers to discuss a new migrant distribution mechanism.

Separately, the Ocean Viking charity vessel, run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders, tweeted it had rescued 48 migrants from a wooden boat off the Libyan coast.