(BSS/AFP) - Twelve migrants are missing after having leapt from a boat while heading for Spain`s Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean, the authorities there said Saturday.

Another 14 migrants were rescued from the same vessel 58 kilometres (36 miles) southeast of the island of Cabrera, local officials said.

The rescued migrants told officials that 12 passengers had leapt from the boat on Friday, the local authority said in a statement.

Spain`s civil guard and the coastguard were searching for the missing people, who were from north Africa, the statement added.

The migration route from North Africa to the Balearics has seen a surge this year, according to interior ministry figures.

As of August 15, 4,323 migrants had arrived on the islands since the start of the year, compared to 2,443 at the same date in 2024 -- a 77-percent increase.

Arrivals to Spain`s Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off western Africa, on the other hand, have dropped by 46 percent.