Migrants rescued off Spain's Balearic Islands, ending search for missing boats
The Straits Times
MADRID/BARCELONA, Feb 27 - Spanish authorities rescued 41 migrants from two boats off the Balearic Islands on Friday, bringing to an end a search for three vessels that had been reported missing on the dangerous route between Algeria and the Mediterranean archipelago. Read more at straitstimes.com.
MADRID/BARCELONA, Feb 27 - Spanish authorities rescued 41 migrants from two boats off the Balearic Islands on Friday, bringing to an end a search for three vessels that had been reported missing on the dangerous route between Algeria and the Mediterranean archipelago.
Migrant rights group Walking Borders warned on Thursday that three boats carrying a total of 81 people, including 10 women and two babies, had lost contact after setting out from Algeria toward Europe.
The Algerian navy intercepted two of the three on Thursday. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board those vessels.
The third missing boat was located early Friday afternoon off the coast of Mallorca, and all passengers were rescued, the government's representative in the region said.
Shortly after, authorities also found a fourth boat south of Ibiza that had not been previously reported missing. Its passengers were also rescued. The two boats found Friday were carrying a combined 41 migrants.
The route was one of the fastest-growing migratory passages into the EU last year, even as overall arrivals to the bloc fell.
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