43 Migrants Killed As Boat Carrying Them to Spain Capsizes off Moroccan Coast

The bodies of only two migrants have been recovered so far. Three infants were on the boat, as per sources.

An inflatable boat carrying refugees and other migrants approaching the south coast of Turkey. Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: iStock)

As many as 43 migrants, including three infants, died after the boat they were on capsized off the coast of Morocco, AFP reported.

Caminando Fronteras (CF), an NGO working for migrants, reported that the tragedy occurred off the coast of Tarfaya in southern Morocco.

The organisation tracks migrant boats to aid and rescue them in the event of a calamity.

The 43 people on board were en route to the Spanish Canary Islands when disaster struck.

The accident is one among many that have occurred in the past few weeks alone – like the English Channel tragedy in late December, in which 31 migrants died after their boat capsized.

Additionally, 30 people (in total) had drowned after migrant boats capsized in Greek waters in three separate accidents that occurred in late December.

Speaking to AFP, a spokesperson for Caminando Fronteras said that 10 people were rescued from the wreckage in Tarfaya.

A rescue call was made early Sunday morning, but it "took hours for the (Moroccan) authorities to locate and save the boat," the CF spokesperson added.

Of the 43 people who had lost their lives, the bodies of only two have been recovered so far.

Morocco is an important transit point for migrants travelling to Europe by sea.

More than 4,000 migrants, Caminando Fronteras told AFP, have either died or gone missing since last year in their attempts to reach Spain.

The bodies of most victims were never found.

(With inputs from AFP.)