MADRID: Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved 26 migrants, including one pregnant woman, from a boat that was taking on water as it tried to reach the European coast during the night.

The migrants were 15 miles southwest of the Atlantic coastal town of Barbate, which lies between Cadiz and Gibraltar. The maritime rescue boat "Salvamar Gadir" found the struggling smugglers' boat early Friday.

Emergency services for Spain's southern Andalucia region say the 20 men and six women were all of North African descent.

Tens of thousands of migrants, most from sub-Saharan African countries, try to reach the shores of Spain and Italy by boat each year.

On Wednesday, a 10-year-old girl and two adults died when their boat capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.