Fresh arrivals of immigrants collapse Cádiz holding center
Nearly 200 held in local police cells as CIE struggles Maritime rescue and Moroccan police rescued 64 people on Tuesday
Negotiating strong waves and 70km/h winds in fragile tire rafts, 259 sub-Saharan migrants have gambled with their lives trying to reach the shores of Cádiz in the last four days, collapsing a local internment center (CIE).
On Tuesday 64 more people were rescued by Spanish maritime rescue and Moroccan police in the Strait of Gibraltar and the figure could increase if, as meteorologists predict, the weather improves. In the first half of this year 573 people have been rescued compared with 269 in the same period the year before.
The CIE in Las Palomas de Tarifa is overflowing as a result of the arrivals, as are local police cells, where 180 male migrants are being held alongside 20 regular prisoners, with only two guards to watch over them. The collapse has been caused by the fact the men's wing at the La Piñera CIE in Algeciras has been closed since June. The central government's delegate in Andalusia, Carmen Crespo, on Tuesday said 75 immigrants would be transferred to Madrid's Aluche CIE to relieve the overcrowding.
