A group of 97 migrants has been brought to Malta after being rescued by an Armed Forces patrol boat on Monday night. 

Their arrival was the second big group in less than a week - 370 migrants were rescued and brought to Malta on Wednesday. 

While some of the migrants were believed to be Nigerian, an AFM spokeswoman said nationalities were still to be ascertained. The group included two women and two children.

Upon landing in Malta the migrants were handed over to the police and transported to the Marsa Open Centre to be documented.  

The UN has risked of unprecedented tragedies in the Mediterranean amid a clampdown on NGO rescue ships and the conflict in Libya hastening departures at an alarming rate.

According to data from UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, almost 350 have died en route – putting the death rate for those crossing at more than 15%.

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