THE 62 migrants abroad an over-crowded rescue ship in the Mediterranean have finally been allowed to disembark in Malta after spending 10 days at sea while European states squabbled over who would give them refuge. 

Sea-Eye’s vessel the Alan Kurdi, named after the three-year-old Kurdish Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkey beach in 2015, were given permission to port in Valletta on Saturday. 

“We are relieved that these people have finally reached firm land in a safer port in the EU but we by no means consider this case a victory,” Sea-Eye said in statement posted online at the weekend.