A very tragic shipwreck occurred of the Motril coast, involving a boat full of illegal immigrants, with pregnant women and children amongst them.

Ismail Suarguo, 28, from Burkina Faso was one of the lucky ones – he was fished out of the sea before it claimed him, as it has done to so many hundreds of immigrants that have attempted to cross before him.

He had made his way up through Mali, Algeria and Morocco, searching for work. Not having too much luck in any of the three countries, he decided on Spain. He gave over his meager earnings after having worked for seven months picking potatoes in Algeria and boarded the inflatable craft – a large Zodiac.

Things started off well enough, as the sea was calm, which made being in a crowded open-boat easier, but the next thing he knew was that the craft had received a puncture and everybody ended up in the water.

Twenty-eight of the 51 passengers were saved, the other 22 perished before they could be rescued, amongst them young children.

Search and rescue missions were hampered by the bad weather and were suspended until calmer weather returned, but by then there was no hope for the missing. Amongst the ‘lucky’ ones were two mothers that had lost their babies. One could only repeat, time and time again, “My baby.”

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)