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A wooden boat in the Canary Islands, with which refugees from Morocco landed (archive photo)
Photo: Javier Bauluz / AP
According to the United Nations Migration Organization (IOM), at least 140 migrants drowned off the Senegalese coast.
A boat with around 200 people on board set out on Saturday from the Senegalese coastal town of Mbour towards the Canary Islands, IOM announced on Thursday.
A few hours later, the boat caught fire and capsized.
59 people have been rescued according to media reports.
This is the deadliest shipping disaster that has been recorded this year, said IOM.
The organization is deeply saddened by this tragedy.
Again and again people seeking protection and other migrants from Africa try to reach the Canary Islands.
The archipelago about one hundred kilometers off the coast of West Africa belongs to Spain.
However, the Atlantic is very dangerous for the small boats, which are mostly only powered by outboard motors.
A total of about 11,000 migrants from West Africa arrived in the Canary Islands this year, four times as many as in the same period in 2019. When trying to reach the archipelago, at least 414 people have died this year.
Icon: The mirror
mrc / dpa / Reuters
