Man dead amid mass Spanish crossings

MADRID, Spain -- Spanish police have detained hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants attempting to reach the country from Africa with at least one Moroccan man being found dead.

AUDIO CNN's Al Goodman: Last two nights have seen the year's biggest wave of immigrants 1.27 MB / 120 sec AIFF or WAV sound

CNN's Al Goodman said that 150 were detained on Tuesday night and 300 on Monday night.

He said calm waters on the Gibraltar Straits are behind the mass crossings -- believed to be the largest this year -- from Africa.

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Reuters reported that the dead man was found aboard a damaged boat.

It quoted a local police spokeswoman saying that coastguards rescued more than 60 fellow passengers, about six kilometres (four miles) off the southern coast of Tarifa.

"One person died, two have burn injuries and many others are suffering from exhaustion. Rescue teams are towing them towards Spain's southern coast," she said.

It was not yet clear how the person had died.

Goodman said up to a 1,000 people were believed to have reached Spanish soil this week.

Mafia rings in Morocco and Spain could charge several hundred dollars per person to make the treacherous crossing Goodman added.

Last year around 15,000 African immigrants tried to enter Spain and scores drowned, official figures show.

Spain last month introduced a tough new immigration law that leaves all undocumented foreigners open to immediate expulsion.

The country has an estimated 150,000 immigrants, mostly Moroccans, without papers and one million with permits.