Spain's Maritime Rescue confirms huge rise in number of immigrants rescued

 

Spanish Maritime Rescue Services on Friday confirmed a big rise in the number of immigrants attempting to make the hazardous sea crossing between north-Africa and Spain that they have rescued.

On a day when they confirmed the rescue of over a further 150 immigrants from rubber dinghies off various points off the coast of Spain, the Services explained that in the first 10 months of the year, they had saved the lives of 13,544 people, compared with 5,384 in the same period in 2016.

Those 13,544 immigrants were saved from a total of 824 dinghies, while just 327 dinghies were intercepted during the same 10-month period in 2016.

Continued conflict in Syria and Iraq, as well as the ongoing chaos in Libya have all be factors in this rise, along with the hope of many Africans to have a better life in Europe, according to the Services.

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