20 would-be migrants drown in voyage bid

Some 20 migrants drowned when their boat cracked on the high seas during a dangerous voyage to Spain’s Canary Islands, survivors told police today.

The survivors, seven adults and four children, were picked up by a South African ship some 120 miles south of the Canary Islands and brought to a port on Gran Canaria island overnight.

The migrants, all believed to be from Northwest Africa, told police there had been 31 people in their boat before the accident.

Police said they were investigating the claim, but had no way to immediately confirm if the survivors’ account was true.