A total of 46 Chinese illegal immigrants are expected to be repatriated from Malta once their identities are confirmed, an embassy official on the island said yesterday.

"These people have been initially identified as being from east China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces," the Chinese embassy official told China Daily, "They will be repatriated in accordance with the law when their identities are finally confirmed."

They were sent back to Malta by Italian police on Thursday, as the two countries have an agreement to return illegal immigrants proved to have originated from the other before being repatriated.

Maltese police questioned them on their return to build a case against four men suspected of running the trips to Italy on March 3 and 12.

The embassy in Malta is liaising with local authorities to ensure the rights of the immigrants.

Another six Asian immigrants currently in Italy, thought to be Chinese by local police, will be returned to Malta later this month after having survived being thrown aboard by people smugglers between Malta and Sicily on March 24.

Six died and another three are still missing, presumed dead, from the incident.

Meanwhile, the Chinese consulate in Manchester, UK is still investigating the disappearance of three teenage girls who reportedly arrived in Newcastle with false Japanese passports.

Weng Meifang, 15, and Lin Xiuming and He Yunjin, both 16, have been missing since running away from the supervision of social workers on March 30. They are thought to be from the southwestern province of Sichuan.

No new information concerning their whereabouts has come to light.

(China Daily April 18, 2005)