Migrant boat from Senegal carrying 200 people missing off Canary Islands

Spanish rescuers are searching waters disconnected the Canary Islands for a vessel carrying astatine slightest 200 African migrants who went missing much than a week ago.

The assistance radical Walking Borders says the sportfishing vessel sailed from Kafountine, a coastal municipality successful confederate Senegal that is astir 1,700km (1,057 miles) from Tenerife.

The radical says galore children are connected board, Spain's Efe quality bureau reports.

Two akin boats carrying dozens much radical are besides said to beryllium missing.

The vessel carrying astir 200 radical near Kafountine connected 27 June, heading for the Canary Islands.

Spain's maritime rescue work told Efe that a level had joined the search.

There are fewer details astir the different 2 boats. Reuters quality bureau quoted Helena Maleno of Walking Borders arsenic saying that 1 has astir 65 radical connected board, the different up to 60, which would bring the full fig of radical missing crossed the 3 boats to much than 300.

At slightest 78 radical were confirmed drowned, but the UN reported that up to 500 were inactive missing.

The voyage from West Africa to the Canary Islands is among the astir unsafe routes for migrants, not slightest due to the fact that they usually sail successful elemental dugout sportfishing boats that are easy tossed by almighty Atlantic currents.

Last twelvemonth astatine slightest 559 radical died astatine oversea attempting to scope the Spanish islands, the UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says. The decease toll for 2021 was 1,126.

The IOM quotes Spain's Interior Ministry arsenic saying 15,682 radical arrived irregularly successful the Canary Islands successful 2022, a alteration of 30% compared to 2021.

"Despite the year-to-year decrease, flows on this unsafe way since 2020 stay precocious compared to anterior years," the IOM says.