Three people died and seven were listed as missing when a dinghy carrying migrants across the Mediterranean from Algeria ran into trouble off southern Spain, maritime rescue officials said on Friday.
Rescuers found the semi-sunken dinghy with two survivors and three bodies some 26 nautical miles south of the southern city of Motril in the province of Granada on Friday, Spain’s maritime rescue service (Salvamento Marítimo) wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The two survivors said the boat had been carrying 12 people when it set sail from Algeria six days ago, leading the authorities to suspect seven people may have fallen into the sea, it said.
The date and location of their disappearance was unclear.
A plane from the European Union’s Frontex border agency was helping in the search for the missing, it said.
Spain is one of the main gateways for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, with 56,852 undocumented migrants reaching its shores last year, an 82.1% jump from 2022.
The vast majority arrived on the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. Several thousand die every year while attempting the journey.
ALSO READ: Over 1,000 migrants reach the Canary Islands in 18 boats over the past 3 days.
El Helimer 205 rescata a 2 personas con vida y recupera 3 cuerpos de una patera, tipo neumática, semihundida 26 mn Cabo Sacratif/Motril. Según los 2 rescatados hay 7 desaparecidos. Condiciones meteo adversas. Movilizado avión de Frontex y Guardamar Polimnia de Salvamento Marítimo pic.twitter.com/WcfcYzd745
— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) March 22, 2024
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