Migration : 50 Sub-Saharans die while trying to reach the Canary Islands from Morocco

At least 50 sub-Saharan migrants died, Thursday, after their boats wrecked, trying to reach the Canary Islands through Dakhla and Nouadhibou.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, the bodies of the first group were found by Moroccan fishing boats and by members of the Royal Navy, according to official sources, who added that ten other migrants were rescued.

The sources added that the Moroccan authorities are searching for possible survivors. Human rights defender and spokesperson for the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras Helena Maleno said on her Twitter account that the number of people who died has risen to 27, while the number of people traveling is still unknown.

As for the second sinking boat, 40 other sub-Saharan migrants died after the boat with which they were trying to reach the Canary Islands wrecked off Nouadhibou (Mauritania).

The boat remained adrift for several days without being located, explained the same source, adding that migrants on board decided to jump into the sea but they all drowned, except the survivor found on the shores of Nouadhibou by the Mauritanian authorities. Originally from Gambia, he said that the boat left the Moroccan coast and was heading to the Canary Islands.

EFE recalls that the Moroccan authorities found, on Monday, seven bodies of migrants and rescued 40 Sub-Saharans off Tarfaya.