Twenty-five people confirmed dead in tragic shipwreck south of Morocco

President of a Spanish migration NGO, Helena Maleno Garzón, confirmed the death of 25 people, including a teenager and four babies, in the tragic shipwreck that happened last Sunday off the coast of Akhfennir, Tarfaya Province.

Nine are still missing.

She reported that sixteen bodies have been found in recent days, three are people of Moroccan nationality and the rest are sub-Saharan.

Among the victims were a 13 years old girl and four babies.

The human rights defender confirmed that all the mothers have died with their babies.

The local authorities of the province of Tarfaya announced on Monday that the bodies of 8 people who were attempting to migrate were recovered after their inflatable boat capsized near the coast of the commune of Akhfennir, by the Lake Naaila, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast facing the Spanish Canary Islands.

Morocco’s Atlantic coast forms a departure point for African migrants aiming to reach Europe via the Canary Islands.

3,000 people died or went missing trying to cross the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean to reach European soil in 2021.

This rate is nearly double that of 2020.

In 2021, 40% of irregular migrants arrived on the Spanish coast from Morocco, 30% from Algeria, and 30% from sub-Saharan countries.

Analysts say difficult economic situations, exacerbated by the pandemic, in addition to insecurity and the climate crisis all contributed to the rise in migrants on this route.