MADRID, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish government said on Saturday that it would seek help from the European Union (EU) in stemming the growing numbers of illegal immigrants into the country from Africa by sea.

    Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega will travel Tuesday to Finland, which currently holds the EU rotating presidency, and to EU headquarters in Brussels Wednesday to seek more EU help in fighting the growing tide of migration, the government said in a statement.

    Though Spain was very grateful for the help currently offered by the EU, it was not enough to deal with the scope of the problem, Fernandez de la Vega said Friday.

    The unprecedented growth in the number of illegal immigrants has prompted Spain to seek international help.

    Several Spanish officials flew to Senegal and Mauritania last week for urgent talks on curtailing the flow of illegal migrant boats to Spain's Canary Islands, off the Northwest African coast. ¡¡

    Fernandez de la Vega said that in the first 21 days of August, 4,830 immigrant, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, landed on Spain's shores, with 4,510 of them on the Canary Islands.

    So far this year, more than 18,300 people have reached the Canary Islands, the highest total ever, in overcrowded fishing boats, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. Enditem