Spanish rescue ships saved 73 migrants, including one pregnant woman, from five different smuggling boats trying to cross the sea from Africa to Europe.
The pregnant woman and 25 other migrants were aboard a vessel that was taking on water in the Atlantic Ocean when reached by the rescue boat Salvamar Gadir before daybreak on Friday.
They were found 24 kilometres southwest of the Atlantic coastal town of Barbate, which lies between Cadiz and Gibraltar.
Emergency services for Spain's Andalucia region said the 20 men and six women were all of North African descent.