As many as 50 migrants attempting to reach Spain by boat from West Africa are feared to have drowned, according to the migrant rights group Walking Borders.
Moroccan authorities on Wednesday rescued 36 survivors from a boat that had departed Mauritania on January 2 with 86 passengers, including 66 Pakistanis.
The tragic incident adds to the toll of lives lost on the perilous journey across the Atlantic route.
Walking Borders reported that a record 10,457 migrants died attempting to reach Spain in 2024—an average of 30 lives lost daily. Most fatalities occurred on the Atlantic route, connecting West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands.
The charity revealed that it had alerted authorities six days ago about the missing boat.
Alarm Phone, an NGO providing emergency support for migrants at sea, confirmed that it had contacted Spain’s maritime rescue service on January 12 but lacked specific information on the boat’s location.
Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands’ regional leader, expressed his grief on social media platform X, calling for urgent action.
“The Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa. They cannot continue to turn their backs on this humanitarian drama,” Clavijo stated.
Helena Maleno, CEO of Walking Borders, confirmed that 44 of the deceased were Pakistani nationals.
“They spent 13 days of anguish on the crossing without anyone coming to rescue them,” she said on X, underscoring the dire conditions migrants face.
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