A European border agency patrol vessel intercepted a boat carrying 300 illegal migrants from India and Pakistan off the coast of Senegal, officials said Friday. The boat, with a North Korean flag and named the "Happy Day," was discovered about 80 nautical miles off Dakar, the Italian embassy in Madrid said. The six members of the crew were arrested.
The Italian patrol vessel is part of the European border agency Frontex, which began operations in February 2006 to intercept migrants trying to make it from the west African coast to the Spanish-controlled Canary Islands.
It includes naval and air support from Spain, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Spanish government will be in contact with the migrants' home countries to work out details of their return, Spain First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said.
Last year more than 31,000 illegal immigrants arrived in the Canary Islands, as well as more than 1,500 since the start of 2007. In a separate incident, Senegalese police have detained 38 people who were allegedly preparing to travel illegally to Spain in a small skiff, police said. Those detained Thursday included 30 Senegalese and eight Nigerians.