Three women and two babies drowned after falling into the Mediterranean as they approached southern Spain from Africa aboard a damaged inflatable boat, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. Regional ministry representative Antonio Cruz said officials were alerted to the approach of the boat off the coast of Motril at 4 p.m. Saturday and launched a rescue operation. Cruz said that when coast guards approached they saw a dinghy partially underwater with part of its inflatable sections punctured. When those aboard saw the rescue vessel a group stood up, causing the boat to rock and some people to fall into the water. Their bodies were recovered from the sea, Cruz said, adding that rescue workers also helped 37 survivors aboard the rescue ship. A man, woman and baby were then taken to a hospital in Motril while a man and a baby were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Almeria, AP quoted Cruz as saying. The remaining 23 men, eight women and one baby, were unhurt and taken ashore at Motril although rescue teams were continuing to search the sea for more people as survivors told officials some of the boat's original occupants were still missing, Cruz said.
