MADRID, June 7: More than 200 Indians and Pakistanis were detained in southern Spain on Wednesday after their boat was found drifting off the coast, authorities said.

The 30-metre long boat was towed into the port of Cadiz on Tuesday, after a fishing vessel came across it about nine nautical miles from the town of Chipiona.

A regional government spokesman said Greek and Italian flags were found in the boat, which indicated that one of those countries was their destination.

The official said it contained 216 passengers, all men, from India and Pakistan, mainly from the disputed Kashmir region, plus seven crew from Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal.

The vessel had sailed from the Gulf of Guinea region of west Africa and was apparently preparing to pass eastward through the Straits of Gibraltar.

Spain has seen a recent influx of illegal immigration from Africa to its Canary Islands but the Strait of Gibraltar is another route immigrants use to reach Europe.

Spanish officials were on Wednesday contacting the embassies of the boat’s passengers to arrange their repatriation.—AFP