Spanish Maritime Rescue services confirmed Thursday that for the last 24 hours they had saved 111 migrants from dinghies as they attempted to make the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Spain.
The first rescues were made 46 nautical miles off the south coast of the province of Granada. A total of 64 migrants, including a woman who was in an “advanced state of pregnancy,” saved from two inflatable dinghies.
The migrants were taken to the port of Motril and the woman was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
A second rescue of a dinghy with 47 migrants aboard was confirmed mid-afternoon on Thursday. This time the dinghy, which the maritime service had been looking for since Wednesday, was discovered 52 nautical miles south of Motril, on the south coast of Spain.
Thursday’s rescues took place after a further 98 migrants were rescued from three more dinghies on Wednesday as weather conditions worsened in the Mediterranean following a long spell of warm and calm weather.
Since the start of October, over 1,000 people have been rescued as they attempted to make the sea crossing, although with the arrival of higher winds and rougher waters, the number of people trying to cross from North Africa to Spain in the coming days is expected to fall drastically.
Agency Report