(VOVworld) - Spanish authorities said 92 migrants traveling in five makeshift boats were rescued off Spain's coast on Saturday, as an increasing number of migrants seek to reach Europe via the country. The officials said among those rescued were 63 people from sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest from Algeria.
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| Migrants on board Spanish coast guard arrive at southern Spanish port of Malaga on Saturday (Photo: AFP) AFP) |
Also on Saturday, Spanish authorities stopped 22 migrants hiding in a lorry who were trying to enter Melilla, a Spanish enclave in north Africa which, along with another enclave called Ceuta, are the only land borders between Africa and the EU. The 22 were taken to a migrant centre in Melilla where they will be eligible to lodge a request for asylum. The lorry driver and his assistant were detained.
The Spanish interior ministry has said more than 11,600 migrants and refugees arrived in Ceuta and Melilla last year, the majority from Syria - a 55 percent increase from 2014. The combined population of the two enclaves is just over 170,000.