MADRID, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Red Cross said on Sunday that 974 illegal migrants had arrived in Spain's Canary Islands since Friday night, on 15 barges setting off from the West African nation of Senegal.

    Among the migrants, the largest single group to have reached the shores of the European country this year, two adults and one child needed medical attention and were transferred to the Candelaria Hospital.

    The rest were being held in the Las Raices military barracks on the island of Tenerife.

    Authorities have 40 days to send them back to their country of origin or to the country from which they set sail.

    The largest group in the flotilla -- six boats carrying 456 migrants -- arrived on Saturday at the port of Los Cristianos, southern Tenerife.

    The first group of 195 people on board three boats reached there on Friday, while 323 others came aboard another three boats on Sunday.

    The Red Cross said the hospitalized migrants were suffering from sunburn and exposure after a long journey at sea.

    Authorities said attributed the massive arrival of migrants traveling at present to the calm sea and good weather.

    On Saturday, the Canaries government said the Islands would soon begin patrolling the waters off the Canaries with the help of the Maritania's Coast Guard.

    According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, over 6,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the Canary Islands this year. Enditem