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Immigrant drama off Mauritania
25/04/2007 21:00 - (SA)
Madrid - A Spanish hospital ship has rescued about 90 African would-be immigrants, two of whom died and many of whom were sick, after their boat sprang several leaks off Mauritania, said Spanish government sources on Wednesday.
The migrants said they had thrown 10 other bodies off board during their journey.
The boat carrying 90 Africans was first spotted by a Spanish fishing vessel when it was about to sink off Mauritania on Monday.
The passengers included four women, several children and several seriously ill people. A body was also on board.
The fishing boat MS Segundo San Rafael took the migrants on board, where another one of them died.
Spain asked the Mauritanian authorities for help, but the northwest African country refused to comply, arguing that the immigrant boat was not in its water zone, according to the daily El Pais.
The hospital ship MS Esperanza del Mar, which was travelling in the area to assist Spanish fishermen, finally took the migrants on board.
At least 25 of them were being treated for symptoms including hypothermia, dehydration and anxiety.
Madrid wants immigrants taken back
The hospital ship and the fishing boat were positioned at about 36km off the Mauritanian port of Nouadhibou.
The Spanish government was in contact with Mauritania and Senegal to clarify the boat's departure point, which was thought to be in Senegal.
Madrid wants the immigrants to be taken back to where they left from, a Foreign Ministry source said.
The incident came after a Spanish rescue vessel towed a ship carrying 369 Asians and Africans to near Nouadhibou in February.
Mauritania kept the ship moored off its coast for more than a week before granting it permission to land.
Last summer, Malta barred entry to a Spanish fishing vessel that had rescued 51 Africans. Malta kept the boat waiting for more than a week until Spain finally divided the migrants between several European countries.
Spain's Canary Islands received more than 30 000 African undocumented immigrants in 2006.
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