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From file: Boats used by migrants to reach the Canary Islands coasts, are seen piled up at Arinaga port, in Aguimes, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on November 13, 2020 | Photo: REUTERS/Borja Suarez
From file: Boats used by migrants to reach the Canary Islands coasts, are seen piled up at Arinaga port, in Aguimes, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on November 13, 2020 | Photo: REUTERS/Borja Suarez

Dozens of migrants feared drowned off West African coast

Published on : 2021/08/18
By Marion MacGregor Published on : 2021/08/18

Up to 47 people are feared dead after their boat’s engine failed en route from Western Sahara to the Canary Islands. The missing migrants include three children.

The United Nations' migration agency IOM says 47 people, including three minors, are missing after their boat encountered engine trouble on the passage from Western Sahara to Spain's Canary Islands.

A boat carrying 54 people reportedly left Laayoune in Western Sahara around a fortnight ago, according to seven survivors who were picked up by the Mauritanian coast guard.

"We are working with the Mauritanian authorities to search for the bodies of those migrants who died en route to the Canary Islands," said Boubacar Seybou, an IOM spokesperson.

Fuerteventura, the closest of the Canary Islands to the African coast, is around 100 kilometers from Laayoune.

The Search and Rescue zone of the Canary Islands. Each state is responsible for large parts of water outside of its national waters | Credit: worldwide Search and Rescue Contacts website
The Search and Rescue zone of the Canary Islands. Each state is responsible for large parts of water outside of its national waters | Credit: worldwide Search and Rescue Contacts website


According to Spanish government figures, at least 7,531 people reached the Canary Islands from Western Africa in the first seven months of 2021, an increase of 136% on the number of arrivals over the same period in 2020.

With Reuters

 

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