About 50 migrants, many of them Pakistanis, may have drowned in the latest fatal accident involving people trying to cross from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, migrant rights group Walking Borders said on Thursday. Moroccan authorities on Wednesday rescued 36 people from a boat that had left Mauritania on Jan. 2 with 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, on board, the group said. Forty-four of those presumed drowned were from Pakistan, Walking Borders executive director Helena Maleno said in X. "They spent 13 days of anguish on the journey without anyone coming to rescue them," she said. The ship capsized off the coast of the disputed Western Sahara region and several of the survivors, including some Pakistanis, were taken to a camp near the port of Dakhla, the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X Pakistan said the ship was carrying 80 passengers. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release issued today states that the Pakistan embassy in Rabat had informed the ministry about the incident.
"Several survivors, including Pakistanis, are staying in a camp near Dakhla. Our embassy in Rabat is in contact with local authorities. Additionally, a team from the embassy has been sent to Dakhla to help Pakistani citizens and provide them with necessary assistance."
The Ministry of External Affairs said its Crisis Management Unit was activated and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar directed government agencies to extend all possible facilitation to affected Pakistanis. He said the CMU can be contacted at (051-9207887) or ([email protected]), while acting ambassador Rabia Kasuri and consular assistant Noman Ali at the Rabat embassy can be contacted at (+ 212 689 52 23 65) and (+92 310 2204672), respectively, on WhatsApp. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked authorities for a report on the incident and said strict action would be taken against those involved in the heinous act of human trafficking.
"Negligence of any kind in this regard will not be tolerated. Firm measures are being taken against human trafficking," he said in a statement. Asked about the warnings it had received from NGOs about a missing ship, the Spanish maritime rescue service said it had become aware on January 10 of a ship that had left Nouakchott, Mauritania, and was experiencing problems, but did not could confirm if it was the same ship. . The service said it had conducted unsuccessful aerial searches and warned nearby ships. Walking Borders said it had alerted authorities in all countries involved six days ago about the missing ship. Alarm Phone, an NGO that provides an emergency telephone line for migrants lost at sea, also said it had alerted Spain’s maritime rescue service on January 12 about a ship in distress. A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024, most while trying to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands, according to Walking Borders. Citing Walking Borders’ publication on "The Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa," Clavijo said in X. "They cannot continue turning their backs on this humanitarian drama."
With additional contributions from News Desk
