MADRID — Spanish authorities say police have evicted more than 80 illegal migrants that had occupied a tiny island off Africa's Mediterranean coast.

Abdelmalik El Barkani, the Interior Ministry's representative on Spain's North African enclave of Melilla, said the eviction, which began in the early hours of Tuesday morning, had been "peaceful."

El Barkani said 73 people were handed over to Moroccan authorities, while two women and eight children were taken to Spain to receive hospital care.

Many migrants from Africa try dangerous crossings to reach Spanish territory illegally in the hope of gaining work and forging a better life.