Mother, baby drown trying to reach Spain

At least five immigrants, including a mother and her baby, died trying to reach Spain when the flimsy boat in which they were travelling overturned and sank, officials said yesterday.

Only two of the 33 people on board are confirmed safe, and the search is going on for the 26 others still missing.

The wreck happened close to the coast of the southern Andalusia region on Saturday, when some of those on board the seven-metre long inflatable craft stood up and destabilised it, said a local government spokesman.

"This always makes the boats capsize," he said, adding that there was a strong east wind blowing at the time.

A helicopter, several boats and diving teams were searching for survivors or bodies of the 20 Moroccans and 13 sub-Saharan Africans thought to have been on board.

The spokesmam said two central African men from the boat, who were picked up by the Civil Guard after they had reached the shore, had given details of the sinking.

Thousands of immigrants risk their lives each year in a bid to reach Spain across the 20 kilometre Strait of Gibraltar that separates the country from Morocco, often in rickety and overloaded craft.

Others make the longer journey to Spain's Canary Islands, off the west coast of Morocco.

Spanish media reported that police in the Canaries had picked up more than 100 would-be immigrants there on Saturday.

An immigrant group estimates that some 4,000 people have died or gone missing on these journeys since 1997. Spanish media reported that the latest wreck brings the confirmed death toll for this year to 47.

Many who do make it get sent straight back. Spain has a bilateral agreement allowing it to deport Moroccans immediately.