5 immigrants dead in Mediterranean sea

Five immigrants were confirmed dead, while 17 others were saved by Spanish Maritime Rescue Services in an area of the Mediterranean Sea known as the "Alboran Sea", Spanish media reported on Thursday.

The incident happened on Wednesday night off the coast of the province of Almeria (southeast Spain) in an area known as the "Alboran Sea" after a dinghy carrying 22 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa was found by the rescue vessel Salvamar Spica.

The dinghy had overturned and its occupants were in the water. Although 18 were lifted from the sea alive, four were already dead. A fifth person died at Almeria airport after being airlifted there by helicopter.

Wednesday saw further rescue operations with 51 people, including eight women and nine children, lifted from another dinghy in the Alboran sea, before taking to the port of Motril, close to Malaga by the rescue ship Guardamar Polimina, with another operation saving a further 38 immigrants in the same area.

The International Organization for Migration recently calculated that 3,116 migrants died when attempting to cross the Mediterranean in 2017.