World News | 7 Migrants Die as Boat Overturns Near Spanish Island
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. At least seven people died after a migrant boat carrying more than 30 people hit rocks close to a small port on the Canary Island of Lanzarote, Spanish rescue services said Wednesday.
Madrid, Nov 25 (AP) At least seven people died after a migrant boat carrying more than 30 people hit rocks close to a small port on the Canary Island of Lanzarote, Spanish rescue services said Wednesday.
The boat was one of 12 intercepted in the islands' waters overnight. Some 300 people were rescued in the other boats but one died later.
The Canary Islands emergency service said the Lanzarote boat crashed into pier rocks and overturned in the Orzola area on the north of the island late Tuesday.
Video images showed rescue workers pulling young men in T-shirts from the water in the dark and other migrants sitting on the rocks.
Also Read | COVID-19 Vaccine: First European Union Citizens May Be Vaccinated Against Coronavirus by December End.
The emergency service said seven bodies from the boat were found overnight. It said search operations are continuing.
In the other incidents, the national rescue service and Civil Guard rescued some 300 people, including women and children, arriving in 11 boats. One person died.
The services said many of the migrants were from northwest African countries and had set sail from Morocco several days ago.
Many of the rescued were taken to the Arguineguín dock on the southwestern coast of Gran Canaria island, where several thousand people of different origins are being kept, some in tents.
Spain has promised to set up more tents to accommodate the people arriving.
More than 18,000 people fleeing poverty, violence or other circumstances have arrived in Spain's Canary Islands this year, a 1,000% increase from the same period in 2019. More than 500 have died in the attempt. Around half of the arrivals — and most of the deaths — have been in the past 30 days, a spike that has strained resources on the archipelago. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)