Maltese armed forces said on Monday they had successfully saved 180 migrants from two boats off the coast of Malta during an overnight operation.
A total of 28 migrants were plucked from a dinghy 71 nautical miles southwest of Malta, while a further 152 were picked up from a wooden boat southeast of the Mediterranean island, the navy said.
The rescued migrants were expected to disembark in Malta late afternoon on Monday, just a day after another 69 migrants were intercepted south of Malta, according to the navy.
Meanwhile on Monday, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and two German non-government organisations, Sea Watch and Sea Eye called on European states to take in a group of 49 migrants who have been stuck at sea for days after they were stranded in the Mediterranean. The migrants include women and children.
In a statement, UNHCR said governments need to agree on a system in 2019 that gives rescue ship captains "clarity and predictability" on where migrants can disembark.
Italy is among southern European countries that have closed their ports to migrants amid a clampdown on NGO rescue boats, sparking standoffs that have left hundreds of migrants stranded at sea for days as EU states clashed over who should take in the migrants.
