A dinghy carrying dozens of migrants landed on Wednesday in the middle of a beach full of travellers and vacationers in Zahara de los Atunes on the coast of Andalusia, southern Spain.
The dinghy landed at the Playa de los Alemanes beach after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, local media reported. Footage on social media showed the boat landing and the migrants jumping out and running up the beach.
The dinghy’s point of departure was not known and there was no immediate comment from police.
WATCH BELOW: 34 migrants rescued at sea after their dinghy burst into flames
Due to good weather conditions, Spain has seen an increase in attempts by migrants to reach its shores over the past few weeks.
On Monday, dozens of sub-Saharan migrants crossed into Spain from Morocco in the early hours after running through a border gate into the enclave of Ceuta, emergency services said.
Migrants frequently attempt to storm the borders of Spain’s two enclaves in northern Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, often clambering up fences which are up to six-metres tall and topped by razor wire.
WATCH BELOW: Dozens of migrants run across border in Spanish enclave
More than 100 migrants ran through one gate in the fence usually used as a border control, surprising Moroccan and Spanish security forces, a witness told Reuters.
The Red Cross said it had assisted 186 people following the morning rush across the border, adding that four migrants were taken to hospital.
Once inside Spain’s enclaves, migrants are usually taken to temporary shelters and later moved to the Spanish mainland, or returned to their country of origin. The Red Cross said last week it had attended 7,400 migrants crossing into mainland Spain and Ceuta and Melilla so far this year, up from 3,600 in the same period a year ago.
Over 100,000 migrants reached Europe from North Africa and the Middle East from January to June this year, the overwhelming majority coming by sea, according to the International Organization of Migration. Overall numbers have fallen by almost 60 per cent from the same period the previous year.
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