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Over 40 Pakistanis feared dead in migrant boat capsizing off African coast, a day after Spain incident
The tragedy comes just a day after a similar incident near Morocco killed at least 50 people, including several Pakistanis.
Over 40 Pakistani nationals are feared to have drowned after a boat capsized off the Atlantic coastline of West Africa, which is a pivotal departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe, PTI reported.
According to the migrant rights group Walking Borders, the tragedy, which comes just a day after a similar incident near Morocco killed at least 50 people, including several Pakistanis.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the ill-fated boat was carrying around 80 passengers, including both Pakistanis and other nationalities, when it capsized on January 2 as it neared the shores of Morocco's disputed Western Sahara region.
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President Asif Ali Zardari today expressed grief over the deaths and stressed the need for strict measures to curb human trafficking.
Zardari's comments in a statement late Thursday came after Walking Borders, informed about the death of 44 people in the Morocco mishap.
On the incident, the Pakistan Foreign Office stated the incident informing that its embassy in Morocco is in constant communication with local authorities to assist with rescue operations.
Almost all the Pakistanis who were on the boat were from cities in the eastern Punjab province. Relatives were gathering at the homes of the victims as some of the survivors were now in contact with their families, officials say.
Pakistan, Asian countries reel with human trafficking
Millions of people migrate to Europe each year, the vast majority using legal and regular means. Fewer than 240,000 people crossed borders into the continent without papers last year, according to the European Union's border agency Frontex.
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As authorities have worked to prevent migration and smuggling from countries in the Mediterranean Sea, more dangerous routes have become increasingly used. Frontex reported more than 50,000 migrants made the journey from northwest Africa to Spain's Canary Islands in 2024, including 178 Pakistanis.
Walking Borders said in a report last week that 9,757 people had died or gone missing trying to cross to the islands, calling the route “the deadliest in the world.”
