A sinking boat carrying 56 illegal immigrants was intercepted last night about seventeen miles from El Ejido, Almeria province.
The authorities had been searching for the vessel for several hours after receiving a call, probably from a relative of one of the passengers, saying that a boat had left North Africa twelve hours earlier.
The passengers included seven women, one of them pregnant. The sea was quite rough, making the interception more difficult, and most of the passengers were cold and wet and several were suffering from hypothermia. Five passengers required hospitalisation upon arrival in Almeria, the rest recovered quickly after being given dry clothes, blankets, food and hot drinks.
A total of 124 illegal immigrants have arrived in Almeria since Monday.