Seventy migrants recently lost their lives attempting to reach Spain by boat from Mali, with only 11 survivors, reported Mali’s Minister for Diaspora, Musa Ag Ataher, according to Beta.
The migrants, hailing from West Africa, were crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards the Canary Islands, one of the world’s deadliest routes. The Canary Islands, located closer to Africa than Spain, serve as a transit point for migrants heading toward Europe.
Mamadu Sibi, the mayor of Marena in the Keita region, where the deceased migrants were from, told the Associated Press that the migrants had initially planned to work in Mauritania but changed their course after being encouraged by friends in Europe and America. They were not informed of the dangers by their families, he added.
People from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, and other West African countries often resort to hazardous routes in search of work or to flee war and political instability.
