Three Senegalese migrants were found dead in a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. Their bodies were recovered off the coast of Dakhla, Western Sahara, as 189 people were rescued.
Morocco’s navy recovered the bodies of three migrants and rescued 189 others who had been on board two boats off the coast of Dakhla in Western Sahara, a military source told the Moroccan news agency MAP on Tuesday (October 24).
The source said that the survivors on the two "struggling pirogues (motorized canoes)" included 18 women and 29 minors, as well as the three deceased. All were said to be Senegalese nationals.
The two boats had reportedly set sail on October 2 and October 17 from the coast of Senegal and had been heading for the Canary Islands.
The deceased migrants were taken to a hospital morgue in Dakhla, while the survivors were handed over to authorities.
Returned on direct flights
With the number of people setting out in boats for the Canary Islands – mostly from Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal – rising sharply, the Spanish government has announced a series of measures. A €50 million package was approved on October 24 to help authorities in the islands improve reception facilities for the new arrivals.
The government also plans to send Senegalese migrants on direct flights from the Canary Islands back to Dakar. The measure will target those who have arrived in the Canaries in the last three months and are considered by the authorities not to have valid grounds to claim asylum.
The first of these flights to Dakar is expected to leave in the coming days with around 100 people on board.
With AFP