Kneeling on the ground, an African immigrant prays inside a sports centre where he and others were brought after arriving on a rescue ship in the Spanish port of Tarifa.
He was among a group of hundreds of migrants who were picked up by the Spanish emergency services as they travelled in small boats and makeshift rafts across the Strait of Gibraltar.
12 Aug 2014 . TARIFA, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
African immigrants wave to fishermen as they arrive in Tarifa on a rescue vessel.
Spanish emergency services picked up 920 immigrants travelling in about 81 rafts across the Strait of Gibraltar on August 12, and 227 from the same stretch of water the day before, a spokesman for the Spanish Red Cross said.
The Mediterranean shipping lane is almost 15 km (9 miles) wide at its narrowest and is often used by migrants trying to get to Europe.
13 Aug 2014 . TARIFA, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
A member of the Spanish Red Cross feeds an immigrant's baby as migrants rest inside the sports centre in Tarifa.
More than 75,000 have tried to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa in the first half of 2014, landing in Italy, Greece, Spain and Malta, the UNHCR agency says, with about 800 people dying in the attempt.
About 10,500 children, two thirds of them unaccompanied or separated from their families, were included in those numbers.
12 Aug 2014 . TARIFA, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
The number of people trying to get to Europe across the Mediterranean is already about 60 percent higher than the whole of last year, the U.N. refugee agency said in July.
Fleeing violence in Africa and the Middle East, many have attempted to make the crossing using unseaworthy vessels.
13 Aug 2014 . TARIFA, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
The rush of people arriving in the space of just two days this August may be due to calm seas and warm weather.
Increased security around the North African Spanish territories of Melilla and Ceuta is also likely to have pushed people to the coasts, local Spanish media said.
12 Aug 2014 . MELILLA, Spain. REUTERS/Jesus Blasco de Avellaneda
On the same day that hundreds of migrants were being picked up by Spanish emergency workers at sea, more than 700 immigrants also tried to scale the razor-wire barriers in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, according to the government.
Of those who tried to climb the fence, only 30 reached Spanish territory where they will be either repatriated or sent to the mainland Spain.