A migrant rights group, Walking Borders, has expressed fear that as many as 50 migrants attempting to reach Spain by boat from West Africa may have drowned.
According to the Madrid-based group, Moroccan authorities on Wednesday rescued 36 people from a boat that departed from Mauritania on January 2, carrying a total of 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis.
Walking Borders reports that a record 10,457 migrants, averaging 30 deaths a day, died in 2024 while attempting to reach Spain, with most casualties occurring while crossing the Atlantic route from West African countries like Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands.
The group also stated that they had alerted authorities from all the involved countries six days prior to the rescue operation regarding the missing boat.
Alarm Phone, a non-governmental organization providing an emergency phone line for migrants lost at sea, reported that it alerted Spain’s maritime rescue service on January 12, but the service stated it had no information about the boat.
In response to the tragedy, the Canary Islands’ regional leader Fernando Clavijo expressed his sorrow and urged Spain and Europe to take action to prevent further loss of life.
“The Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa,” Clavijo said on social media platform X, emphasizing the need for action in response to this humanitarian crisis. Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno also reported on X that 44 of the victims who drowned were from Pakistan
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