SIX SCHOOLBOYS have been rescued after trying to paddle to Europe from Africa in a toy dinghy.
The youngsters were picked up by coastguards a mile off the south coast of Spain after spending more than six hours dodging oil tankers in the busy Straits of Gibraltar.
They used wooden sticks as oars and had just mineral water, chocolate and dates for food.
Police believe they may be as young as seven, although five of the boys have claimed they are aged 10 or 11 and one 16.
Last night they were recovering at a children’s centre in the Spanish port of Algeciras. Local authorities described the children’s death-defying attempt to reach Europe as the first of its kind. The youngsters are thought to have pushed their 6ft by 3ft inflatable into the water near the Moroccan port of Tangiers.
A Red Cross worker, who asked not be named, said: “They had been rowing for more than six hours with small wooden sticks and had no engine to help them combat the wind. They were terrified and freezing and literally leapt into our arms looking for warmth and shelter when they arrived.”
The youngsters’ attempt to cross the nine miles separating Morocco and Spain is believed to be the first of its kind by children.
The crossing is hazardous because of the strong currents and the numbers of vessels that use the shipping lane. Some 5,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the straits since the early 1990s.