Illegal immigrants drown on way to Spain

COAST guards discovered the bodies of 13 people believed to be would-be immigrants who drowned trying to enter Spain clandestinely yesterday.

The bodies were found floating in the sea close to the small fishing port of Tarifa in south western Spain, said Provincial Interior Ministry spokeswoman Cristina Clavain.

The drowned appeared to be from unidentified sub-Sahara countries and Morocco, Ms Clavain added.

Coast guards were searching for more bodies in the area. The vessel in which the 13 are believed to have been sailing in has yet to be found.

Thousands of Africans, mostly Moroccans, try to enter Spain illegally by boat each year to seek work in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Many are caught and repatriated while thousands of others manage to slip through. Thousands are also believed to die in the attempt.

The most popular route is by small boat across the hazardous Strait of Gibraltar, which is just 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) wide at Tarifa Europe's southern-most point.

The latest deaths came a day after the Moroccan immigrant workers' association in Spain, ATIME, said the number of drowned bodies discovered had dropped from 114 to 32, or by some 70%, in the first six months of this year compared to 2001.

The organisation has re-launched its annual campaign to try to dissuade would-be immigrants from taking the boats.