All 141 people rescued from the Mediterranean last Friday have been disembarked in Malta.

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) earlier received formal permission from Maltese authorities for the rescue ship Aquarius to enter the port of Valletta.

An MSF spokesperson said: "MSF is relieved that a place of safety has been found for the 141 vulnerable people rescued on the Mediterranean.

"We welcome the news that Germany, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain have also agreed to share responsibility in a coordinated European response.

"Since the rescues on Friday, our priority has been to ensure the well-being of those rescued at sea, and in line with international and maritime law disembark them in a place of safety without delay so that the Aquarius can continue providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance for those still in distress in the Central Mediterranean.

"As Malta is one of the closest places of safety, docking there saves people rescued from being stranded on the rescue ship for even longer length of time."

All 141 people rescued from #Mediterranean by #Aquarius 5 days ago have been disembarked in a safe place.https://t.co/ITcRy80xUv pic.twitter.com/BdDqgLCz88

— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) August 15, 2018

They added: "Long-term sustainable solutions that address the humanitarian crisis on the Central Mediterranean are still desperately needed.

"This is the responsibility of the EU as a whole, and we look forward to seeing more concrete examples of European leadership and solidarity on this issue in the future."

The Aquarius vessel, chartered by SOS Mediterranee, rescued the people from wooden boats last week.

The ship rescued 25 people found adrift on a small wooden boat with no engine on-board.

Later the Aquarius spotted a second, overcrowded wooden boat with 116 people onboard.

Sixty-seven unaccompanied minors were among those on-board this vessel.