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Senegal fishermen accused of robbing rescued migrants

19 Dec 2006 18:29:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

DAKAR, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Three fishermen in Senegal who helped rescue more than 20 shipwrecked migrants were charged on Tuesday with robbing the men they plucked from the sea, the official Senegalese news agency said.

Around 100 African illegal migrants who had been heading for Europe by sea are missing, feared drowned, after their wooden boat was driven ashore by bad weather on Saturday near Saint-Louis, 320 km (200 miles) north of the capital Dakar.

Local fishermen picked up 24 survivors, including the captain of the boat, who were taken to hospital in Saint-Louis, where doctors treated them for dehydration and exhaustion.

The Senegalese Press Agency (APS) said the captain had accused three of the rescuers of stealing money from the men they saved, as well as the outboard motors of his vessel, which had set out from southern Senegal last month.

Charged with joint theft, extortion and failure to help people in danger, the three accused fishermen would appear in court on Thursday. If convicted, they face jail terms of between five and 20 years and fines, APS said.

The captain himself could face possible migrant-trafficking charges.

The would-be migrants were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands, where more than 25,000 clandestine job-seekers have landed this year in rickety wooden fishing boats.

The influx has forced Spain to launch a diplomatic offensive in West Africa to try to halt the migrants, hundreds of whom drown every year in the dangerous crossings.

Spain and its European Union allies, in cooperation with Morocco, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Senegal, have been operating coastal patrols to try to reduce the flow of young West Africans seeking jobs and a better life in Europe.

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Last updated:Tue Dec 19 18:31:13 2006