Spain nets 550 illegal immigrants

Over 5,000 migrants have been sent back this year

Spanish police have intercepted more than 550 illegal immigrants trying to enter the country, one of the biggest single day's round-ups on record.

About 450 of those arrested were Moroccan men trying to land on the southern Spanish coast near Tarifa.

They were spotted early on Saturday morning in rubber dinghies approaching Spain, some crammed 60 to a boat.

One of the intercepted boats had to be rescued after filling with water.

In another, one of the immigrants had to be resuscitated after being given up for dead by his companions.

Body found

Separately, another 28 immigrants from Morocco and Sierra Leone were apprehended on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canaries.

One migrant was found drowned after a boat overturned on rocks.

Spanish authorities told the official Efe news agency that more bodies could still be at sea.

Summer is the busiest time for African immigrants trying to get into Europe, usually for work.

New Spanish immigration laws are hardly working

If caught they are immediately repatriated.

Spain introduced new immigration controls to try and stop people entering the country without a visa.

Even so, more than 5,000 illegal migrants from Morocco had to be sent back in the year to the end of June.

Last year 15,000 African immigrants tried to enter the country, with scores thought to have drowned in the attempt.