Spain's maritime rescue said today it has rescued 125 migrants trying to make nighttime crossings from Africa in three smuggling boats.
All three of the small boats were located before daybreak today.
The first boat, carrying 41 men and 11 women of sub- Saharan origin, was located by rescue teams shortly after midnight in the Alboran Sea east of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Red Cross said all were in good health.
A second group of 62 North African males, including 11 minors, was packed into a wooden boat when rescued just west of the Strait in the Atlantic Ocean.
Eleven more migrants of unknown origin were pulled from a small vessel in the Mediterranean Sea after a NATO aircraft alerted the maritime rescue service. The Red Cross said six of the migrants required treatment for burns, including one that needed hospitalisation.
Tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, try to reach the shores of Spain and Italy by boat each year.
Between Thursday and yesterday, 73 migrants were rescued from five boats by Spanish ships.
On Wednesday, a 10-year-old girl and two adults died when their boat capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Spain.
An official of Spain's rescue service confirmed the details of today's operations speaking anonymously in line with institution policy.
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