Barcelona: Authorities on the island nation of Malta in Europe have refuted claims made a day earlier by a group of nongovernmental organisations regarding a migrant boat in distress.

The Armed Forces of Malta informed The Associated Press via email on Tuesday that "no boat was sighted in the reported position" after numerous searches and verifications of the reported position.

On Monday, four rescue organisations working in the central Mediterranean accused Maltese government officials of arranging the deportation of 500 people to eastern Libya, where they were later imprisoned, in violation of maritime law.

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According to the NGO, the group of migrants, which included 55 children and pregnant women, had been making their way to Europe on a rusty iron fishing boat on May 23 when they reported that they were adrift and consuming water to Alarm Phone, a hotline for migrants in distress.

The migrants were in international waters within Malta's search and rescue jurisdiction when they repeatedly shared their GPS location with Alarm Phone via satellite communication.

Alarm Phone claims that despite repeatedly informing Maltese authorities of their location and dire situation, they never received word that a rescue effort had begun. Rescue aircraft and ships from humanitarian organisations also failed to find the vessel. On the morning of, Alarm Phone lost contact with the migrants.

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According to Alarm Phone, the migrants' relatives reported two days later that they had been sent back to Benghazi, Libya, and were now being held captive.
485 people were returned to Benghazi by a ship belonging to the so-called Libyan National Army, a force in the east of the country commanded by military commander Khalifa Haftar, according to the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency, who spoke to The Associated Press.

Safa Msehli, an IOM spokesperson, confirmed that the migrants were taken to the Qanfouda detention facility but was unable to confirm whether they were the same individuals mentioned by Alarm Phone.

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Both UN organisations have repeatedly denounced the repatriation of migrants and refugees to Libya, arguing that the lawless country shouldn't be regarded as a secure location for disembarking as required by international law.

Authorities in Malta also stated via email that they "have no jurisdiction over any autonomous actions conducted in international waters."