Five migrants who need urgent medical assistance were airlifted to Mater Dei after a night during which AFM was involved in a large scale operation involving 25 migrant boats at sea simultaneously.

The AFM said that it was actively contributing to one of the largest aero-naval search and rescue operations that unfolded in the Mediterranean over the past years.

The search and rescue operation saw the involvement of a number of Italian Navy/ Coast Guard vessels, US Navy warships, all the merchant vessels in the area as well as three AFM patrol vessels and an AFM Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

A joint operation with USS Bataan saw the migrants being transferred onto the US Warship and it was decided that a total of five migrants were to be transferred to Mater Dei Hospital in Malta from the US warship, using its onboard V22 Osprey Aircraft .

The aircraft landed at the Malta International Airport with the five migrants (1 child, 1 woman and 3 men) where an awaiting ambulance transferred the migrants for further medical treatment at Mater Dei Hospital.

All the operations throughout the night were coordinated by the Maltese and Italian Rescue and Coordination Centres.

Images captured by the AFM Official Photographer Bombardier Justin Gatt

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