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Record numbers of refugees reach Spain's Canary Islands
Sep 3, 2006, 17:40 GMT
Santa Cruz, Spain - Record numbers of refugees have been streaming into Spain's Canary Islands, with more than 1,100 illegal immigrants landing in the past 36 hours, Spanish officials reported Sunday.
Never before had so many refugees arrived in so short a time, officials said, adding that the immigrants of African origin, including a number of children, were in good health.
Around 20,000 illegal immigrants have landed in the Canaries since January, about four times as many as in all of 2005.
According to aid organizations, as many as 3,000 would-be immigrants have died in the dangerous Atlantic journey.
A conference of Mediterranean states is to take place this month in Madrid to address the continued refugee crisis.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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