MADRID, Spain - Six Africans, from Ghana and Mali, were rescued by helicopter after being stranded on a small boat in the Atlantic for two weeks while trying to enter Spain illegally. Twelve others drowned while adrift, authorities said.

Doctors said the five men and one woman all in their 20s — were in good condition given their ordeal. They nevertheless had symptoms of dehydration, malnutrition, hypothermia and exhaustion. They were rescued Wednesday night.

They were expected to be released within 48 hours from hospitals in the Canary Islands.

The survivors told authorities they had set out from the coast of the Western Sahara two weeks ago en route to the islands, which many poor Africans see as a gateway to Europe and a better life.

Their six-meter (20-foot) boat was spotted by a Spanish fishing boat.

No information was available about the 12 people who drowned.

Tens of thousands of North and sub-Saharan Africans try to enter Spain illegally each year through the Canary Islands or by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to the Spanish mainland.