The service says its craft intercepted six small smuggling boats carrying a total of 350 migrants on Saturday in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar. MADRID—Spain’s maritime rescue service says it has saved 549 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. On Sunday another 199 migrants were pulled from five different boats, including two tiny inflatable boats meant for small bodies of water or near the beach. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 2,262 migrants died while crossing the Mediterranean in 2018. The European Union’s border agency says that 57,000 migrants reached Spain last year, double the figure for 2017.

Source: thestar January 06, 2019 13:07 UTC