Over 400 migrants rescued at sea in Spain in past week

Hundreds more migrants found drifting in 16 dinghies off Spain have been rescued over the last two days

The number of migrants headed to Spain by sea has soared this year, rising three-fold in the first four months
The number of migrants headed to Spain by sea has soared this year, rising three-fold in the first four months

Over 400 migrants have been rescued at sea off the coast of southern Spain in the past week, rescue services said Thursday.

Spanish coast guards rescued migrants on 16 boats making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing, as an increasing amount of people seek entry into Europe through Spain.

In total, 414 people were picked up and taken to the cities of Almeria, Malaga, Tarifa, Cartagena and Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta.

Planes and helicopters from Spain's Maritime Agency, the Spanish Army and the Civil Guard took part.

The number of migrants headed to Spain by sea has soared this year, rising three-fold in the first four months compared to the same period last year.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 3,300 people reached Spain by sea between January and the end of April, and at least 59 died attempting to cross.

In 2016, 6,726 migrants were rescued as they tried to enter Spain by sea, according to the Spanish coastguard.

The number of migrants reaching Spain remains much lower than in Italy, which counted over 69,000 migrants arriving by sea between the beginning of the year and 18 June, while 1,889 died en route.