Spain: Search resumes for missing immigrants

Spanish sea rescue units today resumed the search for 14 immigrants missing and feared drowned after their boat sank three days ago.

The bodies of four people were found after the boat sank off the coast of the Canary island of Fuerteventura on Sunday, but there was no sign of the other 14 who had been on board.

Sea rescue officials told the national news agency Efe they held out little hope of finding the 14.

Every year, thousands of people, mostly sub-Saharan Africans and Moroccans, try to enter Europe clandestinely by crossing in boats from Morocco to Spain in search of work and a better life. Many drown in the attempt.

More than 250 immigrants were reported to have successfully crossed from north Africa to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands last weekend. Most were detained and would likely be deported.