More than 40 African migrants have drowned while 12 were rescued when their boat sank in the Western Sahara coast of Cape Bojador near Morocco capital, a journalist and human rights defender Helena Maleno Garzón, reported on Monday.
Also confirming the incident, a human rights NGO, Caminando Fronteras, reported that 44 people drowned in the shipwreck in the south of Cape Bojador.
According to the reports, the Moroccan authorities have recovered 16 bodies that were transferred to the morgue.
In a tweet also on Monday, Garzón said authorities were notified of the incident early enough but rescue officials did not act on time as it took several hours before they acted.
“We provided the authorities with the position of the boat and its call for help, but the rescue took four fateful hours, Rest in peace.
“Our deepest condolences to the families, hopefully, one day they will find justice and reparation,” she added.
It however, remains unclear where the boat’s destination was exactly but the incident was widely associated with a migration attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, an NGO official said.
Bojador-Canary Islands are one of the main irregular migration routes connecting Morocco to Spain, along with other access points such as Melilla and Ceuta and in recent years, have become one of the frequently used migration route for African migrants.
Last week, Moroccan and Spanish officials reiterated their commitment to consolidating dialogue and close coordination with respect to regional cooperation on migration.
Spanish officials also commended Morocco’s “far-reaching efforts” to address irregular migration, underlining the country’s “tangible results.”