44 Bangladeshis return home from Malta after Mediterranean rescue

Bangla Press Desk:   Maltese authorities have carried out one of the fastest migrant repatriation operations on record, sending back dozens of migrants within 17 days of their arrival, most of them Bangladeshi nationals.

A total of 48 migrants were repatriated after being rescued on 12 December, when a boat carrying 61 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea and was brought to the island nation of Malta, according to Maltese media reports.

The Malta Independent reported that authorities conducted the returns in two operations. One involved 44 migrants on 28 December, while four others were sent back within days of landing in Malta. Although Maltese officials did not publicly name the destination country, the majority of those rescued were Bangladeshis.

Bangladesh Police’s Immigration branch later confirmed that 44 Bangladeshi nationals returned home on 29 December on a special flight. The aircraft landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 5:20pm local time. All the returnees were men, an immigration official said.

The Bangladesh Embassy, however, said the return should not be described as deportation. Rabeya Begum, first secretary at the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens, which also covers Malta, said the process was voluntary.

She said many of the Bangladeshi migrants suffered fuel burns and physical injuries during the perilous sea journey, while others were left traumatised. Several required hospital treatment after arriving in Malta. Given their condition, all of them chose to return to Bangladesh voluntarily, she said.

Begum added that 17 Bangladeshis who arrived on 12 December, including one minor, remain in Malta and will have their cases reviewed under the country’s asylum procedures. She also said the number of Bangladeshi returnees was 43, not 44, and that the Maltese government provided limited financial assistance, though she did not specify the amount.

European migration platform ETIAS described the speed of the repatriation as unusual, noting that most returns take weeks or months due to paperwork, identity checks and coordination with countries of origin.

Maltese authorities said the rapid process was possible due to close coordination among police, the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.

Government data cited by ETIAS showed that 81% of irregular migrants who arrived in Malta in 2025 were returned to their home countries. Malta also recorded one of the lowest arrival rates in the European Union, with irregular migration falling by 93% over the past five years.

Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said the policy aims to protect those deserving asylum while deterring human traffickers. Rights groups, however, have raised concerns over whether migrants were properly informed of their right to seek asylum or provided access to legal representation.

Bangladeshis have made up one of the largest groups of irregular migrants arriving in Malta in recent years. In 2024, Bangladeshis accounted for nearly half of the undocumented arrivals to the island, according to the Asylum Information Database.

The incident highlights the dangers faced by Bangladeshi migrants attempting irregular routes to Europe and renews calls for greater awareness and safer, legal migration pathways.

BP/TD