|
Mauritania: Immigrants stranded
07/02/2007 16:57 - (SA)
Madrid - A ship carrying about 400 Asian and African undocumented immigrants on Wednesday remained stranded for the third day off Mauritania, which was barring them entry, said Spanish rescue services.
Spain was negotiating with Mauritania, other nearby African countries, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration to resolve the situation of the MS Marine I.
A Spanish rescue vessel towed the broken-down freighter to the proximity of Nouadhibou, the nearest possible port after Senegal said it did not have the means to assist the ship which had sent emergency signals from international waters close to Senegal on Friday.
The Marine I, was believed to have been taking would-be immigrants to the Canary Islands.
Most of the migrants were thought to be from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, but they also included Africans.
The Mauritanian Red Crescent put their number at 400, twice the number initially given by Spanish rescuers. Twelve crewmembers were also on board.
'Poor condition'
The freighter was reported in poor condition, but the migrants were given food and water by the Red Crescent and the Spanish Red Cross. The immigrants, all of whom were believed to be adult men, were reported in fairly good health.
Mauritania says it has not signed the maritime assistance agreement on the basis of which Spain took the ship to the nearest port, according to Spanish sources.
The ship had set sail in West Africa. Asians sometimes fly to Africa in order to travel to Europe with the help of criminal rings taking Africans there.
Spain feared a situation similar to last summer, when a Spanish fishing vessel rescued 51 Africans.
Malta refused them entry, keeping the fishing boat anchored off its coast for more than a week, until Spain finally divided the migrants between several European countries.
|
News
