AFRICA. Morocco: Eight bodies of African migrants have been extracted from a sea in Southern Morocco after a boat reportedly capsized. The bodies were found near the coastal town of Akhfenir, on the Morocco Atlantic coast close to the Spanish Canary Islands.
According to Morocco Authorities, 18 other bodies of the migrants who were from the Sub-Saharan African region in the capsized boat were rescued alive.
However, authorities also state that the actual number of deaths may be much higher since many people do not tell friends or relatives when they are about to embark on a crossing.
Many of the deaths also occur before migrants even reach the coast. For instance, in the Sahara desert in Niger and Mali, several groups of migrants have been abandoned recently by smugglers and subsequently found dead after being exposed to temperatures which can rise above 40 degrees in the day, with little or no water or food to keep them going.
Morocco’s Atlantic coast in recent times has become a departure point for African migrants aiming to reach Europe via the Canary Islands.
Boat Mishap in Morocco
It was noted that in June this year, about 23 to 37 migrants were reported to have died while attempting to climb the border fence of Malilla.
The Spanish Charity Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) estimated that almost 1,000 migrants have died, or been reported missing at sea, on various routes towards Spain in just the first six months of 2022.
The UN migration agency’s Missing Migrants Project puts the figures at around 312 in the first six months of 2022 on the Canary Islands route, and around 18 deaths for various reasons recorded around the coasts of northern Africa in the same period.
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