The small boat from Africa was almost in the safe harbor in the Canary Islands. Then it capsized. At least nine migrants were killed and many more are missing.
At least nine people died when an open wooden boat carrying 84 migrants from Africa sank. 27 people could have been rescued, the Spanish sea rescue service said upon request. The search is still underway for 48 missing people in the sea off the Canary Island of El Hierro.
The boat capsized in rough seas shortly before the harbor in the town of La Restinga because too many of the people on board moved to one side when a sea rescue cruiser approached.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), almost 30,000 migrants have already reached the Canary Islands from Africa this year. That was significantly more than in the same period last year. The boats depart from the coast of West Africa between Guinea in the south and Morocco in the north.
The Spanish aid organization Caminando Fronteras estimates that around 4,800 people drowned or died of exhaustion on the hundreds of kilometers long crossing between January and the end of May.
Source: Stern
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