Spain: Patrol boats and helicopters are searching for 48 refugees and migrants missing after the boat carrying them sank near the Spanish island of El Hierro. But, there was less hope of finding survivours said officials, according to reports.
Nine people, including a child, died after the incident during the wee hours of Saturday. Rescuers were able to save 27 of 84 people who were trying to reach El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands.
Canary Islands regional President Fernando Clavijo on Saturday night said the 48 people missing were “presumed dead”. He also added that more bodies would likely to appear “over the next two, three days”, if those were washed up by the current.
According to reports, the people on the boat were from Mali, Mauritania and Senegal and had set out from Nouadhibou in Mauritania, some 800km from the mishap spot.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, Spanish emergency services had received a call from the boat. At that time, it was located about four 6.5km east of El Hierro. It sank during the rescue attempt, they rescuers said, according to an Aljazeera report. Wind and poor visibility made the rescue extremely difficult.