Thirteen immigrants drown off Spanish coast

The bodies of 13 people thought to have drowned while trying to enter Spain were found today on the shore near Tarifa.

The bodies of 13 people thought to have drowned while trying to enter Spain were found today on the shore near Tarifa.

The city is on Spain's southernmost tip, a short distance from Morocco.

A civil guard spokesman said eight of the dead were from sub-Saharan Africa and the origins of five others is not yet known. He said police believe the immigrants drowned while trying to swim to shore, but no boat had been found nearby.

Yesterday, the civil guard intercepted 62 people from northern Africa trying to enter Spain via Tarifa.

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Spain is separated from Morocco at that point by the 14-kilometre wide Strait of Gibraltar, which provides calm seas for those trying to navigate into Spanish territory from northern Africa.

Thousands of illegal immigrants are stopped when they arrive in Spanish coastal areas each year and the issue has become a key source of contention between Spain and Morocco.

AFP