Italy accuses Malta of refusing to receive a ship carrying more than 200 rescued migrants, calling the country's decision "absurd" and "inhumane".
In a post on his personal social media page, Italian Transport Minister Danilo Tonitelli accuses Malta of refusing to receive the Lifeline, which carries 230 migrants, at the request of the Italian government.
A Maltese government official said his country was not responsible for the ship as the rescue operation was handled by the Rome Coordination Center in co-operation with Libyan authorities.
However, the Italian Minister of Transport claims that the attitude of Malta is "inhuman" and calls on the Maltese government to "open its ports and save these human lives".
In fact, in his post, he suppresses the message of the Maltese Armed Forces, according to which the ship transporting the migrants is not in Search and Rescue mode and has not sent an alarm signal.