MADRID: More than 100 African migrants were saved from the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain on Saturday after attempting the perilous crossing to Europe on a rickety boat, officials said.
“Today at least 104 people were saved,” said a spokeswoman for the Spanish public agency in charge of maritime rescues, adding that children were among the passengers.
Their boat was spotted by a fishing ship northeast of the Spanish island of Alboran.
Rescuers transported 56 people from Sub-Saharan Africa to Malaga, the spokeswoman said, while 32 other Africans, including 17 women, were taken to the port of Motril, 100 kilometres (60 miles) further east.
Sixteen other migrants, originally from North Africa, were taken to Cartagena, 400 kilometres northeast of Malaga.
Since 2014 more than 10,000 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean, according to UN figures.
