EurActiv | 10.07.2017
The number of migrants arriving on Spain’s southern coast has more than doubled in 2017 compared to last year, as they avoid passing through conflict-wracked Libya on their way to Europe.
Eight boats carrying 380 people have been rescued since Wednesday (5 July) in the Alboran Sea, which connects northeastern Morocco and southeastern Spain, in the Western Mediterranean.
“We are worried because we are seeing numbers which we have not seen in years. And it’s a dangerous area, where the currents are very strong,” said the spokesman for the Spanish branch of rights group SOS Racisme, Mikel Araguas.
Last week, an inflatable dinghy that had apparently set out from Morocco with 52 people aboard was flipped over after being hit by a strong wave. Only three survivors were rescued by the Spanish coastguard.