Seventeen migrants believed dead trying to reach Spain's Balearic Islands

MADRID, Aug 4 - Seventeen migrants died trying to reach the shores of Spain's Balearic Islands after 15 days of travel, authorities said on Tuesday, citing the testimony of two survivors who were rescued from a boat off the coast of Mallorca.

Both survivors, who were from North African countries, showed signs of malnutrition and dehydration, and were hospitalised, the Spanish government's office in the region said.

The two survivors said 19 people were originally onboard the vessel. Authorities could not independently confirm the deaths.

An emergency helicopter was mobilised to search the area near the location of Tuesday's rescue, as well as to issue a notice to mariners, the government's office said.

The boat was found about 13 nautical miles southwest of the island of Mallorca, in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a separate case near Mallorca later on Tuesday, authorities said they had rescued 17 migrants alive and two deceased from a boat that is believed to have been carrying around 30 people and that search efforts for the remaining passengers were continuing late on Tuesday.

The route from Algeria to the Balearic Islands was the fastest-growing migratory passage into the European Union from January to June of this year, even as overall arrivals to the bloc fell, according to EU border agency Frontex. Overall arrivals to Spain were down close to 25%, the latest data from Spain's Interior Ministry showed.

Frontex said last year that smugglers were switching their operations to Algeria from Morocco over what were perceived to be less stringent controls and were using faster boats.

Spain has sought to strengthen its cooperation on migration control with Algeria in the past year. REUTERS