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Six migrant African boys paddle over to Spain in toy dinghy
Gerard Couzens, in Madrid16.09.09
Six young boys have been rescued after trying to paddle to Europe from Africa in a toy dinghy.
The children were picked up by coastguards a mile off the coast of Spain after spending more than six hours dodging tankers in the busy Straits of Gibraltar.
They used small wooden sticks as oars and had brought mineral water, chocolate and dates for the journey.
Police believe they may be as young as seven, although five of the boys claimed to be 10 or 11 and one 16. They are recovering at a children's centre in the southern Spanish port of Algeciras.
Local authorities described the attempt to cross the nine-mile wide strait as the first of its kind. The boys are thought to have pushed their 6ft by 3ft inflatable into the water near the Moroccan port of Tangiers.
A Red Cross worker said: “They had been rowing for more than six hours with sticks and had no engine to help them combat the wind. They were terrified and freezing and leapt into our arms looking for warmth and shelter when they arrived.”
Adult immigrants have attempted the crossing, against the strait's strong currents, using inflatable dinghies and even a surfboard.
An estimated 5,000 immigrants have died trying to cross from Africa to Gibraltar since the early Nineties.
