Libya takes rescued Africans

Libya agreed yesterday to let a Spanish fishing boat land rescued African migrants on its soil, the captain of the boat told state radio.

Libya's decision follows a day of diplomatic wrangling with Spain over who was responsible for the 26 Africans, including a corpse, plucked from the sea off the coast of Tripoli by the Spanish fishermen after the migrants' rickety boat capsized.

Libyan authorities had refused the boat permission to enter the port of Tripoli on Thursday but relented yesterday, the captain of the boat told state radio.

"It's been quite a relief," boat captain Jose Luis Sestayo told state radio. "We've been in contact with Madrid to see if what we had heard (from the Libyans) was true and basically they rang and confirmed we could go back to the port."

It was the latest stand-off between Mediterranean countries over the fate of illegal migrants risking their lives in search of jobs in Europe. Spain said the migrants were picked up within Libya's rescue zone, meaning it was obliged to take them in.

Spain receives more African migrants than any other European country. Most of them land in the Canary Islands after sailing hundreds of kilometres on simple wooden boats from West Africa.

Another vessel belonging to the fishing boat's owner, Jose Dura, rescued 51 immigrants last year. It was stranded off the coast of Malta after authorities there refused to let it dock. Around 370 Asian and African migrants were left on a boat off Mauritania for more than a week in February while Madrid haggled with west African governments over who should take them in.