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Nine West Africans drowned near Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands after they were forced to jump into the sea by the crew of a boat that was taking them illegally to the Spanish territory, AFP reported Radio nacional de Espana as saying on Thursday.
Eight other Cameroonians and Sierra Leoneans managed to reach the shore, according to the Spanish radio, which reported that local authorities recovered the nine bodies. Survivors said that after they were made to jump into the water the motor boat that had brought them from Western Sahara, some 100 km to the southeast, headed back to open sea.
Fuerteventura is the closest island in the Canary archipelago to Africa. In the last two years, it has become one of the principal destinations for boats, piloted by Sahrawis, carrying illegal immigrants, AFP reported.
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