Ten migrants drown on the way to the Canary Islands
Ten North African would-be immigrants to Spain drowned early Friday off the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, police said. A boat carrying up to 20 migrants hit a rock at about 20 metres off Aguimes in the south-east, making them believe they had landed.
The migrants jumped off board, and 10 of them "sank like rocks," either because they could not swim or were too tired or heavily dressed, police representative Juan Ortega said. Six other immigrants swam ashore and were detained. Two were rescued alive from the water, and taken to hospital to be treated for hypothermia and related symptoms. Police were combing sea and land in case there were more victims. Half of the dead victims were between 16 and 20 years old.
More than 100 undocumented immigrants have died this year while attempting to reach Spain. They included more than 50 people who drowned when their boat capsized off Tenerife in July. The Canary Islands have received more than 5,000 migrants from Africa so far in 2007.
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