MALTA refused to allow refugees onboard a charity ship to come ashore today, despite many of them having been rescued within its own search-and-rescue (SAR) zone.

Civilian rescuers on their maiden voyage aboard the Sea-Eye 4 saved the lives of over 400 people in less than 72 hours in the central Mediterranean over the weekend to Monday, with no help from the authorities.

On their last mission, the crew picked up more than 170 people inside Malta’s SAR zone, a section of the central Mediterranean in which the island nation is legally obliged to co-ordinate rescues and bring people to safety.