At least more than 30 people are feared to have drowned in the sea Wednesday as a migrant dinghy carrying 59 people was on its way to Spain’s Canary Islands, according to two organisations focused on migrants.
The organisations including Walking Borders and Alarm Phone said the dinghy was originally carrying 59 people on board. Helena Maleno, head of Spain’s Walking Borders migrants charity wrote on Twitter that 39 people had drowned.
Alarm Phone, which focuses on supporting rescue operations in trans-Europe said on Twitter that 35 people were missing. Earlier Wednesday, Alarm Phone reported the boat was taking on water and three passengers were dead, adding that “we demand immediate rescue, do not let them down!” There has been no confirmation from Spain’s coastguard or the Moroccan authorities regarding the total number of on board the vessel or how many might be missing.
According to Reuters, the Spanish maritime rescue service said that a child had died and 24 people were rescued from the sinking dinghy in a Moroccan-led rescue operation carried out some 88 miles to the southeast of Gran Canaria island.—Reuters
