Migrant extras mistreated on Malta film set: Report

Migrants hired as extras for an Italian film set in Malta were subjected to ill treatment allegedly in order to create more realistic scenes, the Times of Malta has reported.

Under the direction of Italian comedic filmmaker Checco Zalone, around 70 African migrants living in Malta, including four children, were hired for a movie titled "Tolo Tolo", the newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The paper cited members of the film crew as saying that 60 of the migrants, most of whom could not swim, were left without water for six hours on a boat in the sun without being allowed to take toilet breaks.

At one point a pregnant woman began to panic and the crew took her to shore. At least four crew members resigned after the incident, the Times of Malta reported.

"Their lives were at risk," one of them told the paper. "I was terrified for their safety."