Spain arrests traffickers accused of killing asylum seekers

Madrid: Spanish police said on Sunday they had arrested seven people smugglers accused of murdering four migrant during a sea crossing in November fro...

Madrid: Spanish police said on Sunday they had arrested seven people smugglers accused of murdering four migrant during a sea crossing in November from the African mainland to the Canary Islands.

The seven were detained at an emergency accommodation centre on the island of Tenerife, they said.

Police described them as the "captains" of a vessel that docked in the island of El Hierro on November 3, with 207 asylum seekers on board.

"They are suspected of killing four of the people, two days before the boat reached the Canaries coast," they said.

Police launched an investigation into the deaths as a result of witness accounts from migrants, who described the journey as "a nightmare".