RABAT, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Morocco foiled on Friday an illegal immigration attempt and arrested three smugglers in the country's northern port of Saidia, the Moroccan police said in a statement.
A total of eight migrants, all Moroccans, were prevented from taking a small boat to reach the Spanish coast, according to the statement.
On Wednesday, four migrants died while attempting to cross from Morocco to Spain, and 58 migrants were rescued by Spanish coast guards.
Morocco has become a hub for African migrants who seek to reach Europe for a better life. Thousands of migrants try to flee poverty and unrest in Africa each year through Morocco to Europe, either by land or by sea.
A total of 19,604 migrants had illegally reached the Spanish coasts until Oct. 14 this year, against 43,467 migrants during the same period in 2018, a drop of 54.9 percent, said a report by the Spanish Interior Ministry on illegal immigration in 2019. Enditem
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