Mali’s officials confirmed that at least 69 people including 25 Malians died when a boat from West Africa bound for Spain capsized near Morocco.
A statement by the Ministry of Malians Abroad stated that although there were 80 people aboard, only 11 survived. Nine of the survivors were from Mali.
The incident was confirmed by the ministry on Thursday.
It said that a crisis unit had been sent to monitor the situation.
Mali has been ravaged by jihadists and separatists for years, resulting in coups in 2020 and 2021.
The junta had promised that elections would be held to return to civil rule by March 20, 2024. This has not yet happened.
Much of the north and the east are ungoverned due to the widespread insurgency by jihadists.
Many people have been forced to leave Europe because of unemployment and climate change effects on agriculture.
The crossing is dangerous.
According to Caminando Fronteras a Spanish human rights organization, over 10,000 people died trying to reach Spain via boat from Africa this year. This makes it one of the most dangerous migration routes around the world.
The organization found that there were 30 deaths per day on average.
The migration route from the Atlantic coasts in Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain is considered one of the world’s most dangerous routes.
Many people who take this dangerous route are from sub-Saharan Africa. They have fled poverty and war in their own countries.
Morocco is only eight nautical miles away (14km) at its nearest point from Spain’s continental coast.