Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain  - Two stowaways have died on board a British-flagged container ship coming from Ivory Coast, Spanish police said Monday.

Two bodies were removed from MS Rosa Delmas in the Rosario port of the Spanish Canary Island of Fuerteventura, where the freighter had made a stopover to drop off a group of stowaways on its way to the northern Spanish port of Vigo.

A total of 13 stowaways had been on board the ship, including two bodies that were found in the hold. Four of the others were hospitalized.

The stowaways were believed to be would-be immigrants heading for Europe. (dpa)