Migrant death toll rises in Melilla

RABAT - Moroccan authorities found the bodies of nine more migrants yesterday, bringing to 30 the total number that have washed up on the Atlantic shore.

And the death toll from the latest attempt by African migrants to storm into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in north Africa has risen to three.

The deaths underlined the urgency of the immigration issue before next week's Europe-Africa conference on migration in Rabat.

A Moroccan official said the third fatality at Melilla was a 28-year-old Cameroonian who died in hospital from pelvic injuries following the incident, in which up to 70 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa tried to stampede into the Spanish enclave.

Two other men were also killed in Tuesday's incident, when migrants rushed a 6m fence at dawn with makeshift ladders.

Moroccan guards fired warning shots to stop them entering.

One man fell on to the Spanish side of the fence while another died on the way to a Moroccan hospital.

At least eight others were seriously injured by razor wire.

- REUTERS