Spain’s maritime rescue service has rescued hundreds of people trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe this weekend amid growing concerns that the country is struggling to cope with the migration crisis. On Sunday, a further 250 migrants were rescued from eight boats, three of which were in poor condition and later sank, they added. According to statistics from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 21,468 migrants and refugees arrived in Spain by sea in 2017, with 224 people dying on the journey. The arrival figures showed a threefold increase on 2016, when 6,046 people reached Spain and 128 people died en route. Vega pointed out that almost as many people had died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Spain in the first five months of 2018 as had died in the whole of 2017.

Source: The Guardian May 27, 2018 12:56 UTC