Eleven migrants seeking to reach Europe illegally drowned after the sinking of their boat off the Algerian coast of Tipaza (west), a media and a Spanish humanitarian organization reported on Monday May 16.
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"
Eleven harragas (Arabic nickname given to illegal migrants) who had set sail from Fouka (near Tipaza), died and five young people, including two children, were rescued
", reported the private television channel El-Hayet TV. on his Facebook page.
"illegal immigration"
According to the International Center for the Identification of Missing Migrants (Cipimd), a Spanish NGO, “
a boat carrying 16 people, including women and children was shipwrecked on Sunday evening
”, off Tipaza.
"
She was heading towards the Balearic archipelago
," said Cipimd.
Many Internet users in Algeria have published photos of the victims on social networks, all of them originating, according to them, from the town of Fouka, in the prefecture of Tipaza, 70km west of Algiers.
The 16 migrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Spain when their boat capsized on Sunday evening.
They remained in the water for 14 hours before being picked up by an Egyptian ship which handed them over to the Algerian authorities, according to Internet users.
According to a report published by the Ministry of Defence, the coastguards "
thwarted attempts at illegal emigration and rescued 172 people on board craft boats
" between May 4 and May 11.
Read also Illegal immigration: does France deport any illegal immigrants?
In 2021, 4,404 migrants died or disappeared during their sea crossing to try to reach Spain, the worst toll since 2015, according to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which takes stock of these migratory dramas thanks to calls from migrants. or their relatives on their emergency numbers.
