The Spanish coastguard rescued 267 people from 28 small boats in the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday. All the men, women and children onboard from Africa were found to be in apparent good health and taken to Tarifa, in Cádiz province, to be treated.
The good weather in the Strait of Gibraltar over recent days has led to a rise in the number of immigrants trying to enter Spain illegally by sea in small inflatable dinghies. In the last 24 hours, nearly 300 migrants have managed to reach Spanish shores
According to Spanish Maritime Rescue, two of its ships intercepted eight small boats trying to cross the Strait with 84 people aboard in the early hours of Monday morning. Later two other ships and a Civil Guard patrol boat rescued 15 other small vessels. In the afternoon five more boats carrying migrants were intercepted.
Two other coastguard ships and a helicopter, plus Civil Guard patrol boats, remain in the area trying to intercept several other immigrant vessels adrift off the Spanish coast. It is not known how many people the other boats contain.
