MADRID (AP) — Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved 549 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

The service says its craft intercepted six small smuggling boats carrying a total of 350 migrants on Saturday in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar.

On Sunday another 199 migrants were pulled from five different boats, including two tiny inflatable boats meant for small bodies of water or near the beach. One of those tiny recreational boats was carrying four children. The other was packed with 10 adults.

The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 2,262 migrants died while crossing the Mediterranean in 2018.

The European Union's border agency says that 57,000 migrants reached Spain last year, double the figure for 2017. That is partially due to the fact that Italy, Malta and other EU nations have been refusing to let aid boats full of rescued migrants dock at their ports.

Overall, however, unauthorized border crossings into Europe hit a five-year low in 2018.

17 PHOTOS Migrants trekking to the United States rely on faith See Gallery Migrants trekking to the United States rely on faith Pastor Jose Murcia, 47, preaches to migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Nicolas Alonso Sanchez, 47, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., poses for a picture as he holds a cross at a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. "God helped me and gave me the strength, helped me to make my dreams come true. God gave me all the strength to get all the way here," Sanchez said. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., pray before food distribution outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico December 1, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Juan Francisco, 25, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., shows his tattoo of the 23rd Psalm of the Book of Psalms as he poses for a picture outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 26, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Victor Alfonso, 29, from Guatemala, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., poses for a picture as he wears charms depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe at a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 26, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) David Amador, 25, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., poses for a picture as he holds a cross at a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 28, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., raise their hands while praying before moving by buses to a new shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico November 30, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) A migrant, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., is wrapped with a banner depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe in front of a riot police cordon, as migrants try to reach the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico November 25, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Herso, 17, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., poses for a picture as he wears a t-shirt depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) A booklet of Psalm 119:105 is left on a self-made tent at a temporary shelter of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico November 27, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Migrants, part of a caravan from El Salvador traveling to the U.S., pray as they are blocked by the Mexican police during an operation to detain them for entering the country illegally, in Metapa, Mexico November 21, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., raise their hands as they listen to the preaching of pastor Jose Murcia (not pictured) outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) A migrant, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America traveling to the U.S., sleeps with a book in Spanish "What does the Bible teach us?" in a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) A writing "Jesus Christ is the Lord" is seen on a car window outside a temporary shelter for a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Elmer, 29, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., poses for a picture as he holds an icon depicting Jesus Christ and the Virgin of Guadalupe while lining up for food distribution outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 24, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) Juan Francisco, 25, from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America traveling to the U.S., shows his tattoo reading "I can do everything with Christ who strengthens me" as he poses for a picture outside a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico November 26, 2018. (REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis) An image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is seen in a tent of migrants part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, on a street in Tijuana, Mexico, December 15, 2018. (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

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