BBC News Online: World: Europe

Scores picked up from sea

Spanish television said it was the largest number ever detained in one day.

Most of the would-be immigrants were picked up at sea, in six separate operations.

Ninety Moroccans were arrested when coast guards caught them trying to cross the Straits of Gibraltar crammed into two rubber dinghies.

Another 36 people were saved when the ferry Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, operating between Tangiers and Algeciras found them adrift in a rubber dinghy.

Two bodies were also recovered from the waters, which separate Spain from North Africa.

Every year hundreds of people are believed to drown each year as they attempt to enter Spain seeking a better life in Europe.

Between January and May about 5,500 people were arrested while attempting to reach Spain from Morocco.

The prime ministers of Spain and Morocco discussed the problem of illegal immigration at a private meeting in southern Spain on Sunday, Spanish television said.