Boat carrying 101 Africans reaches Spain's Canaries

MADRID, May 12 (Reuters) A boat carrying 101 African migrants reached Tenerife early today, taking to more than 300 the number who have landed on Spain's Canary Islands since Thursday, emergency services spokesmen said.

Coastguards were preparing to intercept another boat that been spotted some 125 miles south of the island of Hierro, part of the wave of Africans hoping for better lives in Europe who have braved the open seas in small boats in recent years.

A boat carrying 80 Africans was escorted into Tenerife yesterday and three boats with 49 aboard landed in Gran Canaria.

Police arrested 50 people after a search following the discovery of four empty boats in Gran Canaria, an emergency services spokeswoman said today.

More than 30,000 illegal immigrants landed in the Canaries last year, prompting a scramble by Spain's Socialist government to sign repatriation agreements with African countries.

The sight of boatloads of exhausted, thirsty migrants arriving in colourfully painted wooden boats driven by huge outboard motors became a regular feature of news bulletins last year, pushing immigration to the top of voters' concerns.

Many of last year's arrivals were eventually flown to the Spanish mainland, given pieces of paper asking them to leave the country and released.

Since then, Spanish diplomats have improved ties with several of the West African countries involved and migrants are now more likely to be sent back home.

Thousands of people are believed to drown or die of thirst or exposure on risky voyages of 600 miles or more, hugging the West African coast and then aiming for the Canaries.

The trips are too dangerous for open boats during winter but warmer weather improves the chances of survival.

REUTERS SS PM2045