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24 Bodies Recovered Off Africa

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From the Associated Press

A Spanish boat recovered the bodies of 24 people believed to be African migrants floating in waters off the coast of Mauritania, hundreds of miles south of the Canary Islands, authorities said Wednesday.

The news came hours after police intercepted about 400 Africans trying to reach the Canary Islands -- a single-day record -- after a dangerous 400-mile voyage in nine overcrowded boats from Mauritania, officials said.

Many of the 24 victims were wearing life jackets, said a Spanish Labor Ministry official who requested anonymity because she was forbidden to be identified publicly.

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The hospital ship found five bodies late Tuesday after being alerted by fishermen 70 miles off Mauritania, the official said. Soon after, 19 more bodies were found. All the victims were thought to be from Africa.

Thousands of Africans seeking a better life try to reach Europe in boats to Spain each year. Hundreds are believed to drown in the attempt.

The immigrant boats traditionally set out from Morocco or Western Sahara, sailing across the Strait of Gibraltar to the Spanish mainland or to Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

The Spanish daily newspaper El Pais reported this week that nearly half a million would-be immigrants had gathered in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, awaiting a chance to travel to Spain.

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