Four North African immigrants died last night and another eighteen are missing after their small boat capsized a mere twenty metres from the shore on the island of Lanzarote.
The small boat arrived off the coast near Teguise but then, for reasons not yet known, the craft capsized.
Two passers-by, locals Cristian Hunt and Johny Camarasa, dived into the water to help and managed to rescue six of the occupants, dragging them to shore. Five of those rescued were later transferred to hospital.
A search began for the missing passengers and a few hours later the first bodies were discovered by a helicopter patrol about one mile further down the coast and about 150 metres from the shore. The bodies were those of two men, one woman and an eight year old girl.
There is believed to be little hope for the remaining passengers. Most of the occupants of the craft were men, although one of the survivors stated that there had been a pregnant woman with three young children on board the boat.