50 Migrants Missing After Boat Capsizes

More than 50 would-be African immigrants into Europe were missing, believed drowned, yesterday after their wooden boat overturned in heavy seas off the Canary Islands.

The boat, carrying about 100 Africans, capsized after those on board panicked while a Spanish marine rescue boat tried to get close to them in the Atlantic Ocean some 90 miles south of Tenerife.

Rescuers were trying to calm the passengers as they prepared to pluck them from the boat in rough seas and gusting winds, the government delegate to the Canary Islands, José Segura, said.

"Some of them got nervous and started to stand up when suddenly the boat was hit by a wave in the side and they all fell into the water," he said.

The wave that knocked them into the water was more than five meters (16ft) high, Mr Segura said. Forty-eight were saved during frantic rescue attempts, but a further 52 were still being sought by rescue vessels yesterday.

It was not the first time that a boat carrying immigrants to the Canary Islands had capsized during a rescue attempt. Many immigrants come from the African interior and have no idea how to swim, and the chances of them surviving even a short period of time in the water are slim.

Some 30,000 African immigrants made it to the Canary Islands last year. More than 1,000 are thought to have died over the past few years on the perilous voyages from west African ports that can take up to 12 days.

Numbers appear to have fallen this year, following agreements between Spain and Senegal, the main point of departure for the boats. Morocco and Mauritania are also involved in stemming the flow.