MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Maritime Rescue Services on Wednesday confirmed they have saved 34 immigrants who were attempting to cross the Straits of Gibraltar between Morocco and the South of Spain in a rubber dinghy.
At 10 a.m. local time, the Maritime Rescue Services tweeted that one of their helicopters "Helimar 220" had "found a dinghy 15 nautical miles west of Tarifa" and that the rescue boat, Conception Arenal, was heading to the point.
An hour later, they confirmed that the Conception Arenal had "rescued 40 people from on board the dinghy", and that the vessel was headed to Tarifa.
On arrival on the port, which is close to the city of Cadiz, it was confirmed that a total of 34 people had been rescued -- "21 men, 12 women and a baby", and that all were of Sub-Saharan origin.
Thousands of immigrants attempt to cross from North Africa into Europe in recent years. The Maritime Rescue Services reported recently they saw a 19 percent rise in activity in the first 6 months of 2017.
