About thirty migrants may have drowned after their boat sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands, two charities have said.
Walking Borders and Alarm Phone said the boat was carrying around sixty people. Spanish authorities said rescue workers found the bodies of a minor and a man, and rescued twenty-four other people but did not know how many people were onboard. The incident places fresh scrutiny on Europe’s response to migration, after a boat sank off Greece last week.
Helena Maleno Garzon, from Walking Borders, said that 39 people had
drowned, including four women and a baby, while Alarm Phone said 35
people were missing. Both organizations monitor migrant boats and receive calls from people on
board or their relatives. The boat sank about one hundred miles south-east of Gran Canaria on
Wednesday.
Chidozie Chima | September 13, 2024
