Italy minister accuses Malta after migrant rescue

(ROME) - Italian coast guards rescued 210 refugees escaping conflict in Libya as the interior minister complained of inaction by neighbouring Malta.

Their broken vessel was detected 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of the island of Lampedusa drifting aimlessly on the Mediterranean. Italian patrol boats brought the passengers safely to land.

But Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni accused neighbouring Malta of "once again" shirking its responsibilities, leaving it up to Italy to "avoid a new tragedy".

Maroni said he reported Malta's attitude to the European Union's immigration commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, demanding that member states respect their duty to intervene in their respective maritime assistance zones.

A rubber dinghy with eight Tunisians aboard was also rescued by Italian authorities near Pantelleria, an island close to Lampedusa.

Between Friday and Saturday, about 1,500 migrants -- almost all of them African migrant workers fleeing conflict in Libya -- arrived to Lampedusa's shores after a week-long lull in arrivals.

Authorities are using ferries to transport migrants from here to other reception centres across Italy, following the arrival of tens of thousands of refugees earlier this year.