Police detain 131 migrants trying to reach Spain

Police detained 131 Africans trying to reach Spain on rickety boats on Saturday, intercepting vessels heading for the Canary Islands and the south coast, officials said.

Two boats were intercepted as they approached Fuerteventura, which at just 120 kilometres from the Moroccan coast is the closest of Spain's Canary Islands to Africa.

Police stopped two other boats heading for the south coast of Spain, police and government officials said.

Every year thousands of people risk their lives trying to reach Spain.

On Friday four boats carrying 150 people were intercepted near Fuerteventura. One capsized and only six of the 39 passengers were rescued. The search for bodies continued on Saturday.

An immigrant group has estimated at least 4,000 people have died since 1997 trying to reach Spain.

The European Commission estimates half a million illegal immigrants flock to the prosperous European Union each year in search of a better life in addition to some 680,000 legal arrivals.