Bodies of around 20 migrants recovered from sea

Moroccan rescue services have recovered the bodies of around 20 migrants in the Mediterranean, a spokeswoman for the Spanish enclave of Melilla said Sunday .
The bodies of the migrants , from sub -Saharan Africa , were spotted Saturday by a Spanish ship , which alerted the rescue services of both countries , the spokeswoman said .
She added that “about 20 ” bodies were then recovered in Moroccan territorial waters. Moroccan authorities have yet to issue a figure .
Late Saturday, a Spanish police patrol boat found one more body , which was taken to Melilla , a Spanish enclave bordering Morocco .
Migrants are increasingly favouring the so - called western Mediterranean route to reach Europe , which involves making the sea crossing between north Africa and southern mainland Spain .

According to the International Organization for Migration , Spain has been the second most popular point of entry for migrants coming to Europe so far this year , with 1 , 279 arrivals, after Italy with 4 , 256 .
It said 243 people have died or are missing in the Mediterranean after trying to cross the Mediterranean this year , not including those recovered this weekend.
Spain was last year the third point of entry for Europe - bound migrants , after Italy and Greece. Arrivals by sea tripled in 2017 compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 22 , 900 migrants , according to the EU border agency Frontex .