Doha – A boat carrying 80 migrants capsized near the Moroccan port of Dakhla, leaving at least 50 people feared dead, including 44 Pakistani nationals, after spending nearly two weeks at sea without rescue, officials and migrant rights groups reported Thursday.
The vessel, which departed from Mauritania on January 2, was carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, according to Walking Borders, a Spain-based migrant rights organization.
Moroccan authorities managed to rescue 36 survivors, who are currently being housed in a camp near Dakhla.
“They spent 13 days of anguish on the crossing without anyone coming to rescue them,” Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) CEO Helena Maleno said on social media platform X.
The Pakistani Foreign Office confirmed the incident, stating that its embassy in Rabat is in constant communication with local authorities.
A team has been dispatched to Dakhla to provide necessary assistance to Pakistani survivors, while the Crisis Management Unit in the Pakistani Foreign Ministry has been activated.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed shock over the incident and directed immediate action.
“I have directed our Foreign Ministry to instruct its staff in Morocco to urgently ascertain the facts and coordinate with local authorities to locate the missing, rescue the survivors and bring back the remains of those who lost their lives in this tragedy,” Sharif stated.
Read also: 70 Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks Off Moroccan Coast in Mid-December
In Dhola, a village in Punjab’s Gujrat district, Ahsan Shehzad, father of victim Sufyan Ali, revealed to the Associated Press (AP) that his son had sent a voice message describing an already overcrowded boat being forced to accommodate 25 additional passengers.
Another bereaved father, Muhammad Akram from Jurah village, said he had paid millions of rupees to human traffickers to send his son, Abu Bakar, abroad.
The Pakistani government announced that a high-ranking team, including Federal Investigation Agency Additional Director General Muneer Maarth and Additional Secretary Interior Salman Chaudhary, will travel to Morocco on Saturday to assess the situation and compile a detailed report.
The FIA has registered three cases against suspected human traffickers in Gujrat and Sialkot districts.
According to one FIR, victims were charged up to Rs4 million (approximately $14,285) each for the journey, initially traveling through Ethiopia to Senegal and Mauritania before boarding the ill-fated vessel.
This incident occurs amid a surge in migration attempts to Spain’s Canary Islands. According to Caminando Fronteras, 2024 proved to be the deadliest year on record, with over 10,400 migrants losing their lives attempting to reach Spain by sea.
The Canary Islands route has become increasingly popular due to lower smuggling costs, ranging from €1,500 to €3,500, compared to €4,000 for reaching mainland Spain from northern Morocco.
