A boat carrying 82 African would-be immigrants arrived at the Canary Island of Gran Canaria on Saturday, many of them in poor condition, emergency services said. Three people died on the beach, eight were taken to medical centers and 41 required first aid, a Red Cross spokesman said. The boat was small for the number of people aboard and many occupants suffered from hypothermia, dehydration, burns, cuts, bruises and even a bone fracture, said Red Cross spokesman Manuel Sanchez, according to AP. Of the eight taken for medical treatment two were women and two children _ one aged 9 years and the other 9 months _ said Sanchez. Rescue services and police patrols were alerted at 1:30 a.m. (0030GMT) when the vessel was spotted on radar screens, and the boat made landfall on Playa Arguineguin beach close to the southern tip of the island 10 minutes later, an emergency services spokesman said. After an ocean crossing from West Africa, three died shortly after rescue workers arrived and five were taken to San Roque hospital in Maspalomas, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) east of the beach, said the spokesman. Destitute Africans desperate to find a better life regularly risk their lives to try to reach Europe by sailing in open fishing boats toward Spain's Canary Islands off the western tip of Africa. Last year more than 30,000 immigrants were intercepted while sailing from Africa to the Canaries in crowded boats. Officials in the islands say more than 500 died along the way. -- SPA
