86 migrants have been saved by the Spanish coast guard from a migrant boat that vanished more than a week ago.
According to reports, the ship was 130 kilometers (70 nautical miles) south-west of the Canary Islands when it capsized. It was transporting passengers from sub-Saharan Africa.
A container ship helped the coast guard. Both boats are currently sailing in the direction of Gran Canaria.
According to reports, two identical boats carrying many more individuals are still missing. There are not many specifics available.
A migrant aid organization called Walking Borders informed the BBC that one boat had roughly 65 people on board and the other had up to 60.
They are believed to have departed Senegal on June 23, four days ahead of the bigger ship. According to Walking Borders, this one departed from Kafountine, a coastal Senegalese town, which is some 1,700 kilometers away from Tenerife.
The larger ship was believed to have had 200 people on board when it departed Kafountine on June 27 for the Canary Islands, many of them were youngsters, according to an earlier assessment by the group.
Eighty males and six women were among those saved. It’s unclear if all of the people on board have been rescued.
The news comes shortly after one of the worst Mediterranean migrant shipwrecks occurred when an overloaded trawler capsized off the coast of Greece.
They are believed to have departed Senegal on June 23, four days ahead of the bigger ship. According to Walking Borders, this one departed from Kafountine, a coastal Senegalese town, which is some 1,700 kilometers away from Tenerife.
The larger ship was believed to have had 200 people on board when it departed Kafountine on June 27 for the Canary Islands, many of them were youngsters, according to an earlier assessment by the group.
Eighty males and six women were among those saved. It’s unclear if all of the people on board have been rescued.
The news comes shortly after one of the worst Mediterranean migrant shipwrecks occurred when an overloaded trawler capsized off the coast of Greece.
At least 78 drownings have been confirmed, but the UN reported that up to 500 people may still be missing.
One of the riskiest routes for migrants is from West Africa to the Canary Islands. Typically, they travel in small, easily tossed dugout fishing boats that are found in the Atlantic.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the UN estimates that at least 559 persons lost their lives at sea last year while trying to reach the Spanish islands. 1,126 people died in 2021.
The IOM notes that shipwreck reports are frequently omitted and that data on the number of departures from West Africa is insufficient.
It further says that many of the migrants are from sub-Saharan countries like Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Morocco, and Mali.
15,682 persons entered the Canary Islands illegally in 2022, a decrease of more than 30% from 2021, according to Spain’s interior minister.
The IOM notes that despite the year-over-year decline, flows over this hazardous route have remained high since 2020 in comparison to earlier years.
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