Four dead and 16 missing as a boat goes adrift off Morocco

At least four migrants have died and 16 others are missing after a boat that was carrying 78 migrants went adrift while after leaving Morocco for Spain, The Guardian reports.

On Tuesday night, Spain’s maritime rescue services were informed by an NGO that the boat got into difficulties after it left the Charrana beach, near Nador.

The Spanish rescue services managed to save 62 people near Melilla, a spokeswoman for Salvamento Maritimo told the same newspaper.

«Three of them were already dead», she said, adding that «they were taken to Melilla, where they arrived at 11pm. The death of a fourth person was later confirmed. Fifty-eight people survived and four died».

The spokeswoman stressed that rescue operations are underway to recover the missing 16 people and another boat that left Morocco, Tuesday, carrying 73 people.