Immigrants rescued off southern coast of Spain

A boat carrying 41 illegal immigrants was intercepted by the Spanish maritime rescue service off the coast of Motril in the southern part of the country late on Wednesday night. The boat, which is reported to be an inflatable dingy, was intercepted after the Spanish authorities were notified by their Moroccan counterparts of its departure in the early hours of Wednesday. The 41 passengers included a four-year-old girl and nine women, two of whom were pregnant. Search for the boat was complicated by bad weather conditions, as heavy winds drove waves of over six feet which threatened to swamp the overloaded dingy. But authorities managed to locate the boat and transported the immigrants to Motril at around 22:15 hours local time. The immigrants were taken to the hospital after some of them displayed early symptoms of hypothermia. When they are discharged from the hospital, they will be sent to an immigrant center.