Spain rescues 339 migrants from the Mediterranean

Spanish coastguard managed to rescue 339 migrants that were on seven makeshift boats in the Mediterranean sea, AFP reports.

«339 people have been rescued, in seven canoes, between one o'clock in the morning and now,» the spokesman said. The rescued migrants were transferred to Tarifa (southern Spain). Among them at least 19 minors and one baby, says the same person. «The number of boats arriving on the Spanish coast this summer is unusual,» she said. «There are three times as many boats as last year».

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that between January and August the 11th , 8,385 migrants attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar to arrive in Spain, while in 2016, between January and July, 2,763 People have took the same way. According to the IOM, Spain «could exceed this year Greece in migrant arrivals by sea, behind Italy».