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The number of migrants using a perilous new sea route across the Mediterranean from Morocco to Spain has more than tripled in a year, it has emerged.
More than 3,300 refugees crossed to Europe from the North African country in the first four months of this year - compared to just over a thousand in the same period in 2016.
The surge in boat arrivals on the so-called Western Mediterranean route has prompted a series of rescue missions in recent weeks, including 34 refugees saved from a burning dinghy near an island between the two countries.
It comes amid a dramatic reduction in refugees crossing between Turkey and Greece in the wake of a deal struck between the EU and Ankara last year.