A group of 83 migrants were taken ashore early this morning, the police said.

The migrants - 82 men and a woman, were rescued from a 10-metre rubber dinghy which began taking in water.

They were positioned some 31 nautical miles south of Malta.

The AFM's Rescue and Coordination Centre was alerted earlier yesterday about the boat and a search for the reported dinghy was carried out by the AFM Air Wing's King Air Maritime patrol aircraft.

The aircraft successfully located the migrants and a patrol craft was sent to the area to render assistance.

Worsening sea conditions made the operation a challenging one for the AFM assets.

The migrants, who are claiming to be Somali, were taken in by the AFM at Haywharf at 1.30am.

They were then escorted to the police headquarters.