Spanish authorities have rescued over 250 migrants, including children, who were making the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe.
Spain’s maritime safety authorities made this known on Twitter.
It said: “We saved 250 people from five improvised vessels all in the Alboran Sea,”
The number of migrants arriving by sea on Spanish shores has soared over last year, with the figure nearly tripling to 15,585 in 2017, by November 8, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
However, Spain is still well behind Italy, which has recorded some 114,400 arrivals by sea since the start of the year.
Since January nearly 15,600 migrants have made it to Spain by sea, with 156 dying during the crossing, according to the IOM.
The agency estimates that some 155,850 migrants have made the dangerous crossing to Europe this year and another 2,961 died or went missing while trying.
