Spanish coastguards rescued 35 people from the boat about 40 miles (65 km) off the coast of southern Spain overnight after they had survived five days at sea, said the news agency.

The survivors told the coastguards they had thrown the bodies of the dead children, aged between nine months and four years, into the sea, it said.

EFE said many of the survivors were in such poor condition that they were unable to stand and had to be carried ashore for medical assistance.

Spanish officials were not immediately available for comment on the report.

Earlier this week, 14 Nigerian immigrants were believed to have drowned near the Spanish coast when their boat capsized in heavy seas.

Thousands of Africans are believed to have died in the past few years trying to reach a better life in Spain.

But tens of thousands have reached Spanish shores, mainly in the Canary Islands, prompting Spain's Socialist government to toughen its line on illegal immigration and vow to repatriate all who arrive without visas.