At least 44 migrants, including women and babies, have drowned after their boat sank near Tarfaya in southern Morocco. The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras reported this on Sunday.
The NGO says on Twitter that the victims are three women and two babies. Their bodies have been transferred to a morgue in al-Ajoen, Western Sahara.
A total of 61 people were on board the inflatable boat bound for the Canary Islands, about 100 kilometers from Tarfaya. However, the news has not yet been confirmed by the Moroccan authorities.
More than 40,000 migrants, mostly from Morocco, arrived in the country by sea in 2021, according to the latest data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, including in the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Broadened collaboration
The European Union said earlier this week that it wants to “widen” cooperation with Morocco in the fight against illegal immigration. That statement comes at a time when Spain is faced with an influx of migrants into the enclave of Melilla. Together with the enclave of Ceuta, almost 400 kilometers to the west, they are the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. That is why they are regularly the target of attempts by migrants to enter Europe fleeing war or poverty.
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