Migrants die off Spanish coast
Some of those on the boat were reported to be children

At least 25 African migrants have died from hunger, thirst and exposure after trying to reach Spain by boat.

A cargo ship rescued 25 survivors off the coast of southern Spain's Almeria province. Five women and five children were reportedly among the survivors.

A boat patrolling waters between Malaga and Melilla rescued the migrants from a half-submerged boat late on Monday.

Every year, tens of thousands of Africans try to enter Spain by boat to find work in Europe.

"We can never know the exact number," a Red Cross employee at the port of Malaga said, according to The Associated Press.

The Red Cross representative said one woman had lost her husband and three small children at sea.

"She was in shock, in a state of great anguish," the representative added.

A total of 921 migrants died in 2007 from exposure or accidents as they made the journey by sea to Spain, according to a Spanish NGO, the Organisation for Human Rights in Andalusia.

The wave of would-be migrants has prompted the government to toughen its stance on migration. It has pledged to repatriate all illegal migrants and has set up joint naval patrols with European partners.

The number of migrants who reached the country by boat has dropped almost 10% from the same period a year earlier and has more than halved since 2006, according to interior ministry figures.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7582892.stm

Not again?!

what is going on in African ?

What is their nationality?

Why does the west still choose to see 'Africa' as one monolythic mass?

I wish i was in that boat with them, luckily, i know i could have made it into spain alive. Can anyone tell me how to travel through this means?

bigmodo:

I wish i was in that boat with them, luckily, i know i could have made it into spain alive. Can anyone tell me how to travel through this means?

You need to be a good actor when you arrive there so that you can tell them that you have lost all your family on the sea and then you'll get a lot of publicity and maybe they'll allow you to stay there.

At least 25 African migrants have died from hunger, thirst and exposure after trying to reach Spain by boat.

what a world , in them bid to escape hunger they ended up still being killed by hunger, MIGRATE OR DIE TRYING.

The survivors were rescued by a fishing vessel from a semi-submerged dinghy about 70km (40 miles) off Malta, then handed over to a Maltese military boat.

The ship and a military aircraft searched the area for other survivors but none were found, the police said.

Malta - the smallest EU member state - is a leading destination for migrants.

More than 1,000 have managed to reach the island so far this year, mainly from North Africa. On Sunday, more than 100 were brought ashore in two separate operations off the Maltese coast.

The last major loss of life off Malta's coast came in May 2007, when a small boat adrift went missing with at least 53 migrants on board.



"Notwithstanding that they know about [previous] tragedies, these desperate people still try and make the journey to Europe," Neil Falzon, a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malta, told the AFP news agency.

Mr Falzon said that if the number of fatalities was confirmed, it would serve to highlight "the need for assistance to these people".

In June, the European Parliament passed a controversial set of EU rules for dealing with illegal migrants, which allow those caught to be detained for up to 18 months and face a five-year re-entry ban.

Lawmakers backed the measures by a large majority despite opposition from many Socialist and Green parties, and condemnation from human rights groups.

:oIt surprises me why our people would take such risk to go to Europe when they could easily travel through some Asian Countries like China or Vietnam without stress. This madness should be stoped life is precious.Chris Daniel.

na wa oo! i wonder why dey no fit stay for their papa land!they have forgot that spanish are not so friendly like that .
well i pity their family,may their soul rest in peace.

So sad. May they rest in peace, and hopefully the Spanish people let the survivors enter Europe!

@@ benincitys
what is going on in African ?


PLEASE DIRECT THIS QUESTION TO OUR F---U--C--K--E--D AFRICAN LEADERS STUPID CONTINET