Morocco’s naval forces have successfully retrieved the remains of three migrants and carried out the rescue of 189 individuals on two distressed vessels near the shores of Dakhla in Western Sahara, according to a statement from a military official on Tuesday.
“Royal Naval units and coastal surveillance units provided assistance on Monday, during two separate operations, to two struggling pirogues (motorised canoes) south of Dakhla with 189 Senegalese… irregular migrants, including 18 women and 29 minors, as well as three corpses,” a military source told the Moroccan news agency MAP.
According to the same source, the two boats departed from the Senegalese coast on October 2 and 17, 2023, with the intention of reaching the Canary Islands.
The three deceased individuals were transported to a hospital in Dakhla, while the surviving migrants received essential medical attention before being entrusted to the authorities.
The Spanish Canary Islands have historically attracted migrants in search of an improved life in Europe, with numerous vessels embarking from Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Recent statistics from Spain’s interior ministry reveal that 23,537 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands between January 1 and October 15.
During the first two weeks of this month, there were 8,561 arrivals, marking a record high since the previous migration crisis in 2006.
During a recent visit to the archipelago, Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska attributed the surge in numbers to political instability in the Sahel region.
