124 migrants rescued off Spain’s Canary Islands

Spanish coastguards rescued 124 migrants, together with younger kids and an individual needing a wheelchair, from two picket boats within the seas off the Canary Islands on Thursday.

One boat carrying 66 folks was positioned 10 nautical miles south of Gran Canaria, Spain’s Red Cross mentioned. The second, carrying 58 folks together with two ladies, was discovered close by.

The EU border company Frontex says the Atlantic path to the Canary Islands is presently the busiest route for irregular migration from West Africa into the European Union.

The variety of folks making the perilous journey between January 1 and March 15, reached 12,393, in contrast with 2,178 throughout the identical interval final yr, Spain’s Interior Ministry mentioned this month.

The island group is round 100 miles (160 km) from West Africa on the closest level. All the migrants had been taken to Gran Canaria.