A small boat carrying 35 men, 16 women (one pregnant) and 2 babies was intercepted on Thursday afternoon about 35 miles off the Almeria coast.
At around 12:15 on Thursday, the authorities received a call stating that a boat full of emigrants had set off from Alhucemas in Morocco and a search was launched for the vessel. The search involved a number of vessels, a helicopter and a plane.
It was spotted at around 15:00 and intercepted, the passengers being transferred to Almeria port.