Nearly 70 dead after boat capsizes en route to Spain | Migration news

The makeshift boat was carrying about 80 people when it capsized on December 19, Malian authorities said.

At least 69 people, including 25 Malians, have died after a boat traveling from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands capsized off Morocco, Malian authorities said.

The makeshift boat was carrying about 80 people when it capsized on December 19; only 11 people survived, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement on Thursday after gathering information to reconstruct the incident. A crisis center has been created to monitor the situation, they added.

Several of the Malian victims are from the Kayes region in the west of the country, according to Dulai Keita, an adviser to the ministry, in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday.

“Among the 25 Malians who died, there are 8 Malians from my municipality,” Mamadou Sibi, mayor of the Marena municipality in the Kayes region, told AP.

“These dead young men left my commune seven months ago to work in the construction industry in Mauritania. Unfortunately, they were in contact with their friends in Europe and America who encouraged them to come to these countries, and in most cases they undertook the dangerous journey without even notifying their families back home.

The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to The Canary Islands of Spaincommonly used by African migrants trying to reach mainland Spain, has seen a surge this year, with 41,425 arrivals in January-November already surpassing last year's record of 39,910.

Years of conflict in the Sahel region, which includes Mali, unemployment and the effect of climate change on farming communities are among the reasons people are trying to cross.

The Atlantic route, which includes exit points in Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco, is the deadliest in the world, according to migrant aid group Walking Borders.

More than 10,000 people have died trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report published by Walking Borders revealed on Thursday, the highest number since it began keeping a count in 2007.

The route leaving from Mauritania, which has been particularly well used this year by migrants leaving the Sahel region, was the deadliest, causing 6,829 deaths.

Walking Borders blamed a lack of action or arbitrary rescues and the criminalization of migrants for the surge in deaths at sea, accusing governments of “prioritizing immigration control over the right to life”.