Migrant boat incident off Moroccan coast leaves dozens feared dead

More than 30 migrants are feared dead after a boat en route to Spain’s Canary Islands sank on Wednesday, according to Walking Borders and Alarm Phone, two organizations focused on migration issues.  

Walking Borders reported that the dinghy initially carried approximately 60 people. Spain’s maritime rescue service confirmed the deaths of a child and an adult man from the dinghy, and stated that a Moroccan patrol boat had previously rescued 24 individuals. 

Neither Spanish nor Moroccan authorities provided official figures regarding the total number of people onboard or the number missing.

Helena Maleno, spokesperson for Walking Borders, tweeted that “A new massacre in the Atlantic is confirmed with thirty-nine people dead, including four women and a baby. The rubber dinghy had been begging for a rescue in waters of Spanish responsibility for more than twelve hours.”

Alarm Phone, a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, tweeted that 

“Shipwreck in the atlantic! we learned that of the 59 shipwrecked, only 24 people were intercepted by the Moroccan Navy, at least 35 people are still missing.”

Under international law, the dinghy was within Spain’s search-and-rescue region, meaning Madrid should have taken charge of the operation instead of Rabat.

At the time of the incident, the dinghy was in waters off the coast of the Sahara.

Spain’s state news agency, EFE, reported that the Guardamar Caliope, a Spanish rescue service ship, was a mere 46 km (26 miles) away from the dinghy on Tuesday evening.

The Guardamar Caliope did not assist the dinghy as the Moroccan Rescue Coordination Centre in Rabat had taken over the operation.

EFE added that a Moroccan patrol boat was dispatched, but it arrived on Wednesday morning, approximately 10 hours after the dinghy had been spotted by a Spanish rescue aircraft.

Helena Maleno from Walking Borders expressed her anguish, describing the situation as “torture” for the 60 people, including six women and a baby, who had waited for more than 12 hours for rescue in a fragile inflatable boat that was susceptible to sinking.