Two dead as immigrant boat arrives at Canaries

The Canary Islands are once again at the centre of Europe’s struggle to control the growing wave of illegal immigrants. Two people have died, apparently of hypothermia, after a boat carrying 48 passengers arrived at Gran Canaria. Two others on board the vessel are in a critical condition, while a further ten are showing signs of hypothermia. The Canary Islands has seen a fresh surge in arrivals from west Africa after coast guard surveillance was stepped up between Morocco and mainland Spain.

Around 300 illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa arrived over the weekend – many in a poor physical state. Since January 11,000 have risked everything to reach the archipelago, desperate to find a new life in the EU.

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