By Salihah Evans
By Salihah Evans
Rabat – Moroccan authorities made an official statement on Monday denying that 45 migrants died off the coast of Larache, near Tangier.
According to Le360, Morocco’s Interior Ministry responded to media allegations that Moroccan authorities extracted the bodies of 45 irregular immigrants that had reportedly drowned in the Atlantic off of Morocco’s northwest coast, 80 kilometers south of Tangier on Sunday.
The Interior Ministry, however, reported that the boat was only carrying 33 African migrants. According to the department, all 33 migrants were successfully rescued. Five of the migrants, including a pregnant women, were admitted to Larache hospital. Two were released from the hospital later that day while the remaining three continue to receive care but appear to be in stable condition.
Thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants immigrate irregularly to Europe through Morocco annually. Smugglers exploit the desperation of migrants and overpack small rubber boats with migrants. The journey across the Mediterranean is dangerous and often fatal. The International Organization for Migration reports that over 1,000 irregular migrants have died in the Mediterranean so far this year.
