55 rescued, baby's body recovered from Mediterranean

The Spanish Maritime Safety Agency on Sunday said 55 migrants have been rescued and the body of a baby recovered from a small boat in the western Mediterranean Sea.

The agency had initially said it had rescued 53 people and recovered the bodies of two children from the Alboran Sea in the westernmost part of the Mediterranean on Saturday, reports Efe news.

But after a final recount once the migrants had been brought to the southern port of Almería late on Saturday, it was established that 55 migrants - 40 men, 10 women, three minors and two babies - had been rescued.

A spokesperson for the agency told Efe a final recount had been carried out after the boat arrived to Almería, at which point the body of a baby was found and not those of two children.

Bad weather and sailing conditions had hampered the count at sea.

The small boat the migrants were travelling left the coast of Morocco on Friday.

--IANS

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