Oct 25, 2007, 13:54 GMT
Madrid - More than 50 would-be migrants are feared to have died off West Africa when attempting to reach Europe by boat, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Thursday.
Rescue services said a Spanish fishing vessel had rescued one survivor from a boat carrying seven bodies late Wednesday at about 500 kilometres off Senegal. The boat was believed to have initially transported at least 54 people.
Reports said the boat was full of water. The survivor, who was weak but recovering, said the vessel had been adrift for about 20 days.
'Right now, I am a broken person. Before being a captain, I am a human being,' Jose Maria Abreu, captain of the fishing boat, said on describing the tragedy.
The captain said the fishermen had first thought the immigrant boat was empty. They then saw 'a horrible sight. The bodies were seven days old and the only survivor was shattered.'
A Spanish hospital ship was sent to meet the fishing vessel, which was heading for the Canary Islands.
Rubalcaba said about 13,000 undocumented immigrants have reached Spanish coasts so far this year, down from 35,000 in 2006.
The drop is attributed largely to increased efforts to prevent illegal immigration, such as maritime patrols and repatriations, in cooperation with the European Union and African countries.
Increased surveillance has prompted migrant smugglers to choose longer routes to the Canary Islands.
Instead of Western Sahara, Mauritania or Senegal, boats now leave increasingly from Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau further down the West African coast.
The Spanish Interior Ministry was watching 50 boats moored in Conakry, which were suspected of trafficking with migrants, the daily El Pais reported Thursday.
Thousands of Africans are believed to have lost their lives when attempting to reach Spain.
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