Expatica news

One dead passenger on packed migrant boat

17 July 2007

MADRID – A migrant was found dead aboard a boat packed with sub-Saharan Africans that arrived Tuesday at one of Spain’s Canary Islands, the Spanish Red Cross said.

There were nine children among the 55 migrants aboard, the organization said. Some of the migrants said they had left Mauritania 10 days ago. Twelve required immediate medical attention for hypothermia upon reaching the island of Tenerife.

The arrival brought the total number of migrants arriving at the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa, to more than 200 over the past two days.

More than 30,000 immigrants seeking a better life in Europe were intercepted while trying to reach the Canary Islands in crowded boats in 2006.

Normally, migrants who arrive on the Canary Islands without papers are detained for 40 days and eventually released without work permits or residency papers if the Spanish authorities are unable to identify them. Migrants who can be identified are deported to their countries of origin.

[Copyright AP with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news