Dozens of migrants die in the Atlantic

At least 44 migrants died when a migrant boat capsized off the west coast of the Sahara on Sunday, the Caminando Frantras organization said. According to Moroccan government agencies, rescuers have arrested 12 survivors and only managed to pull the bodies of seven migrants out of the water.

 

Western Sahara is a region in northwestern Africa and southern Morocco. Every year, thousands of migrants try to reach the Canary Islands from Western Sahara.

 

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, more than 40,000 migrants entered the country by sea last year. According to the Caminando Fronteras in 2021, 4,404 migrants died or went missing while trying to reach Spain.

 

 Moroccan government agencies said in a report last year that they had stopped more than 63,120 border crossings. In the first three months of this year, the number of these cases reached more than 14,000.

 

The shortest sea route from Morocco to the Canary Islands is one hundred kilometers. Due to the strong flow of water, crossing this route is very dangerous. Many migrants take routes that are clearly off the coast of Western Sahara, such as Mauritania, Senegal, or other sea routes.

 

_{Source: AA, INFOMIGRANTS}