Sunbathers come to aid of exhausted migrants on Gran Canaria beach

Sunbathers on a Spanish island went to the aid of migrants whose boat washed ashore on Friday.

Two-dozen people arrived on Aguila beach in the Canary Islands on a rickety boat, many of them exhausted and with some apparently in a state of shock following their perilous journey.

Members of the public who had been soaking up the sun on the beach joined emergency workers in helping the migrants, who had three children and a pregnant woman amongst them.

Food, water and blankets were handed out, as medics checked up on the new arrivals, who Red Cross officials said were from northern and sub-Saharan Africa.

One member of the public was seen cradling a weary woman in her lap as another swimsuit-clad woman fed her water.

Some 27,594 migrants have arrived in Spain so far this year by mid-November, according to data from the Interior Ministry, a decrease of more than 50% from the same period last year.

The popular tourist destination of Canary Islands, however, has seen an increase of 22% in arrival this year, with 1,493 migrant arrivals so far registered by mid-November.