Morocco migrant boat wreck on Dec 19 left 70 missing – Mali

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BAMAKO, Mali — The sinking of a vessel carrying migrants in Moroccan waters on December 19 left 70 people missing, including 25 from Mali, that country’s government said Thursday.

Around 80 migrants were on board the vessel heading for Spain, with “25 young Malians unfortunately identified among the victims,” the government said in a statement.

Eleven people were rescued, nine of whom were from Mali, it said in the statement, which cited embassies in the region, officials, victims’ families, and survivors.

Thousands of migrants attempt perilous sea crossings from African shores each year in hopes of reaching Europe, often in flimsy makeshift vessels.

READ: Morocco stops would-be migrants trying to reach Spanish exclave

More than 10,400 migrants have died trying to reach Spain since 2024, including a record number heading for the Canary Islands, the Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras said in a report on Thursday.

That was an average of about 30 a day, making it the deadliest year in the organization’s records.

At their closest point, the Canaries lie 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coast of North Africa. The shortest route is between the coastal town of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and the Canary island of Fuerteventura.

But to avoid controls, smugglers sometimes take longer, more dangerous journeys, navigating west into the open Atlantic before turning north to the Canaries.

READ: Morocco authorities force hundreds of migrants out of north

The Atlantic route is particularly deadly, with many of the crowded, poorly equipped boats unable to cope with the strong ocean currents.

Some boats depart African beaches as far as 1,000 kilometers from the Canaries.

Mali has been suffering a serious security crisis since 2012, facing attacks from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, as well as by separatist movements and criminal gangs.

The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, estimates that since 2014, more than 16,400 migrants have died trying to reach Europe from Africa, a figure that includes those headed to the Canary Islands.