Madrid. At least nine migrants died and 48 are missing after their boat capsized early this Saturday near the Spanish island of El Hierro, according to rescue services, in what threatens to be the deadliest incident of its kind in 30 years. years of voyages to the Canary Islands.
Emergency services were able to rescue 27 of the 84 migrants trying to reach the Spanish coast, they added.
According to Spanish authorities, the migrants came from Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
The rescue team received a call shortly after midnight local time from the boat, which was just over 6 kilometers east of El Hierro. It sank during the rescue, they said.
“During the rescue operations, the people who were on board this boat were all concentrated on one of the sides of the canoe, causing it to capsize and fall into the sea,” said Manuel Barroso, head of the National Rescue Coordination Center. from Spain. The wind and poor visibility made the rescue extremely difficult, he added.
Nine bodies have been recovered so far and emergency services are still searching for the others.
Three other boats arrived in the Canary Islands during the night, with 208 migrants on board.
The calm seas and light winds associated with the end of the northern summer in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa have caused a new wave of migrants, local authorities reported this month.
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– 2024-10-05 16:30:40
