VALLETTA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) rescued 76 migrants from a stranded boat in its Search and Rescue Zone and brought them to Malta on Tuesday.

This group of migrants, including 15 women and a baby, were brought ashore on board an AFM patrol boat to Hay Wharf on Tuesday evening.

The rescue came as NGO Alarm Phone accused the AFM of ignoring a request for assistance. In a tweet, Alarm Phone said it had informed the Maltese authorities about the boat carrying 76 migrants on Monday night, but got no reply.

The AFM have since confirmed that it had rescued 76 people at sea.

According to Times of Malta,just hours after that confirmation was sent, Italy's coast guard issued a statement saying it had rescued another 180 people from a small boat around 35 nautical miles southwest of Lampedusa in Malta's Search and Rescue Zone, and was bringing them to Malta.

"Three boats took on the migrants and are currently on the way to Valletta and are waiting for Maltese authorities to identify a place of safety," The Times of Malta quoted the Italian coast guard as saying. But AFM has not confirmed this. Enditem

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