Photo credit: News Central TV
According to authorities in Mali, a shipwreck off the coast of Morocco on December 19 left 70 people missing, including migrants from Mali.
France 24 reports that the vessel was carrying about eighty people, and it sank while en route to Spain. However, eleven survivors were rescued.
Twenty-five Malians were among the missing, according to the Malian government.
Nine of the rescued people were also from Mali.
Thousands of migrants attempt the deadly sea crossings from African shores to Europe each year. They often travel in flimsy makeshift vessels.
Over 10,400 migrants have died trying to reach Spain since 2024, including a record number reading for the Canary Islands, the Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras said in a report on Thursday.
At their closest point, the Canaries lie 100 kilometres off the coast of North Africa. The shortest route is between the coastal town of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and the Canary Island of Fuerteventura.
The Atlantic route is particularly deadly, with many of the crowded, poorly equipped boats unable to cope with strong ocean currents.
Some boats depart African beaches as far as 1,000 kilometres from the Canaries.
Mali has been suffering a serious security crisis since 2012, facing attacks from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, as well as by separatist groups and criminal gangs.
The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, estimates that since 2014, more than 16,400 migrants have died trying to reach Europe from Africa. The figure includes those headed for the Canary Islands.
