01/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - According to figures released by the Maltese government, some 2,187 illegal immigrants (boat people) on some 72 crossings have been rescued or intercepted since the start of 2008 off the coast of Malta. This is twice the number of illegal immigrants recorded in the whole of 2007. Last week alone, 71 people were reported missing when their boat sank off the coast of Malta. This was described as one of the worst tragic losses of illegal immigrants ever recorded for Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean. The 'Médecins sans Frontières' NGO (MSF) recently reported that some 380 clandestines died in the Straits of Sicily (a thin stretch of the Mediterranean between the Italian island of Sicily and Tunisia in Africa) in the first six months of 2008, following the deaths of 500 clandestines in the Straits of Sicily in 2007. According to the calculations of the Italian-based 'Fortress Europe' association, some 12.566 people have died in the Straits of Sicily since 1988 with some 4,646 more reported missing. (B.C.)