French navy finds bodies floating off Malta coast

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) A French navy ship found around 20 bodies floating off the south coast of the Mediterranean island of Malta today, a maritime official said.

The frigate Motte-Picquet was on a routine surveillance mission when it spotted the bodies.

''We are in the process of picking up some dead bodies,'' said Emmanuel Dinh, spokesman for France's Mediterranean maritime authority.

He said he could not give a precise number but said: ''There will certainly be around 20.'' Dinh said there was no sign of a boat and the navy could not yet identify where the bodies came from.

''They are in a state of decomposition so they have been in the sea for several days,'' he added.

Last week 27 shipwrecked Africans spent three days clinging to tuna nets in the Mediterranean while Malta and Libya argued over who should rescue them. They were eventually picked up by the Italian navy.

Malta refused to allow a Spanish tugboat to land another 26 would-be migrants. Spain decided to take them in.

The migrants' plight sparked calls from European Union officials for EU countries to adopt common rules to clarify who is responsible for saving them at sea.

REUTERS AM BD2341