Date: Monday, 10 September 2018
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Several of the migrants waved and smiled at the men who saved them after being transferred onto the safety of a larger boat by Spanish rescue services.
While the overall number of migrants reaching Europe by sea has fallen from a high in 2015, Spain has overtaken Italy as the preferred destination for migrants desperate to reach Europe.
The latest rescue this weekend saw more than 150 men, many of whom appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, but no women or children plucked from boats stranded in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The migrants were rescued by Salvamento Maritimo sea search and rescue agency along with the Spanish Guardia Civil.
According to the International Organisation for Migration, more than 33,000 migrants have arrived in Spain by sea and land this year alone and some 329 have died in the attempt.
