35 Harragas intercepted in the West

ALGIERS - Thirty-five Harragas (candidates for illegal emigration) were intercepted Sunday off the coast of Oran, in west of the country during two separate operations, according to the Algerian coast guard.

•     A group of twenty people aged 17 to 60, was aboard a rigid inflatable boat when it was intercepted at 17 nautical miles (25 kilometres) from the coast at 06:00 am (local, 05:00 GMT), a few hours only after leaving the shore from a beach near Oran.
  
      Fifteen other people seeking to reach the Spanish coast, including four women and a child of 16 months, were rescued hours later off Cape Falcon, 15 km west of Oran.
  
      These people sailed for four days but were lost at sea according to the Coast Guard, having shipped Thursday from a beach located 70 km from Mostaganem (50 km east of Oran) on board of a fishing boat.
  
      The baby, in poor health, was hospitalized.
  
  
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.