Bodies found near Maltese coast

A boat went missing off Malta's coast last week

At least 16 bodies have been found in the sea off the island of Malta.

A spokesman for the French navy, which discovered them, said there was no sign of a boat and it was not possible to identify where they came from.

He said the bodies had already begun to decompose, so they could have been in the sea for several days.

Last week, a small boat adrift off Malta went missing with at least 53 migrants on board. It was last spotted by Malta's air force on 21 May.

It is not clear whether the bodies found on Friday are linked to that boat.

A spokesman for France's Mediterranean maritime agency said that the rescue operation was continuing and the death toll could rise.

Migrants' destination

Malta - a small island that is now a EU member - is a leading destination for African migrants. At least 3,500 have reached the island over the past two years.

Last week 27 shipwrecked Africans spent three days clinging to tuna nets in the Mediterranean while Malta and Libya argued over who should rescue them. Italy eventually picked them up.

Another 26 would-be migrants were taken in by Spain after Malta refused to grant them entry.