Two African men making a bid to reach Europe in an overcrowded wooden boat were found dead by Spain's coastguard today just off the Canary Islands.
Another 46 would-be migrants on the boat, including two women and a young boy, were taken ashore and given medical attention.
The cause of death of the two men was not clear. The Red Cross estimates that about a fifth of Africans who risk the 1,500-kilometre voyage to the Canaries from Mauritania or Senegal die of thirst or exposure, or drown.
Another three would-be migrants were found dead in a boat off the Canaries on Friday.
About 9,500 Africans have arrived in the islands so far this year, double the number during the whole of 2005.
Even though most migrants arrive in Spain by land or air, regular television images of boats full of Africans have helped push immigration past crime and terrorism in polls of issues most worrying Spaniards.