A total of 29 illegal migrants, most of them Asian, were arrested by marine patrols, said Eastern Province Border Guards.

A recent bi-annual report issued by the guards, meanwhile, revealed that more than 200 boats were stopped for various offenses, while authorities embarked on 11 rescue and one anti-smuggling operation in desert areas.

Search and rescue teams rescued 73 people from drowning in areas where swimming is prohibited, compared with only eight deaths. “The decline in figures compared with last year’s numbers is thanks to the vigilance of the border guards,” said Capt. Omar Al-Aklabi, media spokesman for the border patrol.

“Awareness campaigns carried out by border guard officers and individuals have had a positive impact on the overall number of precautions taken by hikers and beach-goers.”

“There was also a women’s marine safety commission that helped raise awareness among beach-goers of all ages by discussing the importance of following marine safety instructions and warning of the dangers of the sea,” he said.

“The commission aims to increase awareness among families and society through lectures and capitalizing on occasions to carry out safety campaigns.

Meanwhile, scores of illegal workers were arrested and businesses shuttered for violating labor and residency regulations in the Eastern Province over the past few days during checks conducted by officials of the Ministry of Labor.

“The inspections were conducted in Dammam, Alkhobar and Ras Tanura in collaboration with the Labor office in Jubail,” said Hamad Al-Saquor, inspections director at the ministry’s branch. “They also checked the Al-Oraifi industrial neighborhood and the Industrial City 1 and 2, where workers gather.”

He said the inspectors were divided into several groups for simultaneous raids on different locations.

Labor Ministry inspectors discovered 144 violations, including 99 violations of labor regulations governing work with sponsors and four violations on various other counts.

They also closed down 12 businesses for violating regulations at women’s workplaces, he said.

In another development, a special police force in Asir arrested 53 encroachers and labor and residency violators of different nationalities across several towns on Saturday.

Lt. Col. Abdullah Al-Shathan, Asir police spokesman, said security forces arrested 38 unidentified encroachers and 15 encroachers of African origin at a mountainous area in a village, as well as seizing a smuggled car at the Wadi Qarda, the Saudi Press Agency reported.