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Children among migrants rescued off Gran Canaria

The migrants were spotted in a boat by a passing ship around 38 miles south of Gran Canaria, local media reported.

They were brought ashore on Sunday afternoon. Small children, some wrapped in blankets were handed to rescue workers, while some adults, looking visibly exhausted, had to be helped off the boat, Reuters footage showed.

So far this year more than 5,700 migrants have made the dangerous crossing from Africa to the Canaries archipelago, over twice as many as in the same period in 2020, which itself saw an eightfold increase from 2019.