Eight migrants were killed after their boat capsized off the coast of southern Morocco while trying to reach the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands, local Moroccan authorities told AFP on Monday (July 25th).
"
The bodies of eight candidates for illegal immigration were recovered on Monday after the sinking of their inflatable boat near the coastal strip of the commune of Akhfennir
", indicated the authorities of Tarfaya, in the south of the kingdom.
Heaviest human toll
Some 18 survivors, of African origin, were arrested "
after a combing operation in the area
" of the sinking.
An investigation was opened "
in order to determine the circumstances of the organization of this illegal immigration operation
", specified the same sources.
The eight corpses recovered were deposited in the morgue of a hospital in Laayoune, the main city of Western Sahara.
Located at the northwestern tip of Africa, Morocco is a transit country for many migrants seeking to reach Europe from its Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts, or by crossing the fences separating Morocco from the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the only borders of the European Union on the African continent.
A month ago, 23 migrants died trying to enter Melilla.
This is the heaviest human toll ever recorded on the borders between Morocco and the two Spanish cities.
Read alsoDrama of Melilla: prison closed for a group of migrants in Morocco
According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, nearly 1,000 migrants died or disappeared at sea in the first half of the year during their crossing to Spain.
This figure represents a drop of half compared to the same period of 2021 (2087), against the background of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Madrid.