Morocco migrant boat wreck on Dec 19 left 70 missing: Mali
More than 10,400 migrants have died trying to reach Spain since 2024, including a record number heading for the Canary Islands, the Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras said in a report on Thursday.
In this file photo taken on 26 November 2018 a boat used by migrants lies on Los Canos de Meca beach in Barbate. The number of migrants who died attempting to cross the Mediterranean fell by more than a quarter in 2018 over the previous year, with 2,262 people reported dead or missing, the UN refugee agency said on 3 January 2019. Picture: AFP
BAMAKO - The sinking of a vessel carrying migrants in Moroccan waters on December 19 left 70 people missing, including 25 from Mali, that country's government said on Thursday.
Around 80 migrants were on board the vessel heading for Spain, with "25 young Malians unfortunately identified among the victims", the government said in a statement.
Eleven people were rescued, nine of whom were from Mali, it said in the statement, which cited embassies in the region, officials, victims' families and survivors.
Thousands of migrants attempt perilous sea crossings from African shores each year in hopes of reaching Europe, often in flimsy makeshift vessels.
More than 10,400 migrants have died trying to reach Spain since 2024, including a record number heading for the Canary Islands, the Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras said in a report on Thursday.
That was an average of about 30 a day, making it the deadliest year in the organisation's records.
At their closest point, the Canaries lie 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the coast of North Africa. The shortest route is between the coastal town of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and the Canary island of Fuerteventura.
But to avoid controls, smugglers sometimes take longer, more dangerous journeys, navigating west into the open Atlantic before turning north to the Canaries.
The Atlantic route is particularly deadly, with many of the crowded, poorly equipped boats unable to cope with the strong ocean currents.
Some boats depart African beaches as far as 1,000 kilometres from the Canaries.
Mali has been suffering a serious security crisis since 2012, facing attacks from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organisation, as well as by separatist movements and criminal gangs.
The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, estimates that since 2014, more than 16,400 migrants have died trying to reach Europe from Africa, a figure that includes those headed to the Canary Islands.