About 40 migrants feared dead off Spain's Canaries
Friday, 23 June 2023
MADRID, June 22 (AFP): Thirty-nine migrants drowned when their dinghy sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands, Spanish non-profit group Walking Borders said on Wednesday.
The coast guard said rescue workers had recovered the body of a minor on Wednesday and plucked 24 other migrants from the ocean.
Walking Borders, which tracks migrant deaths and provides assistance to relatives, posted on Twitter that 39 people had died, including four women and a baby.
The group's founder Helena Maleno said the migrants had waited for over 12 hours for assistance.
A Spanish helicopter sent to the area in response to a request for help from Moroccan authorities found the dead minor and saw no other survivors, a coast guard spokeswoman said.
A Moroccan patrol boat rescued 24 people, she said, adding she did not know "how many people were on board the vessel" in total.
Contacted by AFP, there was no immediate reactions from Moroccan authorities.
The sinking happened about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Spain's Gran Canaria.