On Tuesday, the Moroccan Navy reportedly rescued around 63 migrants, including 15 women and three children. According to the reports, the people have been rescued through a sinking vessel heading towards the Canary Islands.
The emergency hotline provided to the migrants having trouble at sea, Alarm Phone, tweeted that around 63 migrants were safely brought to shore by the Moroccan navy as they were facing severe distress near the Moroccan coast.
🆘! 63 people at risk off #Morocco!
We were alerted to a boat with 63 people on board, including many women and children. They left from #Akhfenir in Morocco. Authorities are informed of their urgent distress close to the Moroccan coast. Act now! Don't let them drown!!! pic.twitter.com/l2PPnS7aey
— Alarm Phone (@alarm_phone) February 1, 2022
The Moroccan authority did not confirm the operation. However, Alarm Phone informed the authority about the situation and appealed to act now!
Rights group Caminando Fronteras members Helena Maleno Garzon also warned that dozens of people sank via an inflatable boat off Tarfaya, the southern coast of Morocco. She further said that the people might die if they are not rescued soon.
Sub-Saharan African migrants regularly use the country as a launchpad to reach the European shores. Amid such attempts, last year, around 4,000 migrants died or went missing; out of these, most of them were trying to reach the Canary Islands, as per the reports by Caminando Fronteras. Many of them choose to head to the Spanish territory in the Atlantic.
In recent months, the deaths across the central Mediterranean have increased, and in 2021, the death toll reached up to 2,041, according to the statics by the International Organisation for Migration, which was 1,448 in 2020.