Refugee boat sank off the Canary Islands – feared more than 30 deaths

BApparently more than 30 refugees drowned in a shipwreck off the Spanish Canary Islands. The dinghy was en route from Morocco to the European islands off Africa before it got into distress Tuesday night. The Moroccan Coast Guard was able to rescue 24 inmates on Wednesday night. According to the non-governmental organization Walking Borders, people on board the boat have been begging for rescue for more than 12 hours. The survivors were taken to Cape Bojador on the north-west coast of Africa.

The NGOs Walking Borders and Alarm Phone said on Wednesday that there were originally 59 people in the boat. However, they gave different information on the number of victims. While Walking Borders spoke of 39 dead, Alarm Phone said 35 were missing. According to the Caminando Fronteras organization, 39 people died, including four women and an infant. Neither the Spanish Coast Guard nor the Moroccan authorities wanted to confirm the number of people on the boat or the number of missing people.

Strong currents off the coast of Morocco

A Spanish helicopter responding to a call for help from Moroccan authorities found a dead baby in the area and no survivors, a spokeswoman for the Spanish Coast Guard said. The body of the small child was recovered on Wednesday around 150 kilometers south of the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, the media reported, citing the Spanish sea rescue service. The search for the missing person ended after the corpse of the baby had been recovered because no other people could be found in the water, it said.

So far this year, at least 5,914 migrants have made the dangerous crossing from the West African coast to the Spanish archipelago – for the people it is the first stage on the way to Europe. This is a decrease of 31.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The crossing from Morocco is dangerous: strong currents often drive the boats, which are usually only equipped with outboard engines and are not suitable for the high seas, away.

According to the authorities, at least 82 people drowned when a refugee boat capsized off Greece last week. According to estimates, up to 750 people were on board. It was the worst accident of this kind off Greece this year.