BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – Nearly 70 migrants were killed when their boat sank as they tried to reach Spain earlier this month, Mali's minister for overseas Malians said on Monday.
Mossa Ag Atahel announced in a press release on Thursday that a migrant boat bound for Spain sank on December 19. The ministry said there were “initially 80 migrants on board, and only 11 survived.” Malian authorities have identified nine Malians among the survivors, and “unfortunately 25 young Malians have been officially identified among the victims,” the minister added.
The Atlantic route of migration from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. Closer to Africa than mainland Spain, the archipelago is seen by many as a step towards the European continent. Many of those making this journey come from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and other West African countries, seeking better job opportunities or fleeing violence and political instability abroad.
Doulay Keita, an adviser to the ministry, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday that several of the Malian victims were from the Kays region in the country's west.
“Of the 25 Malians who died, eight were Malians from my commune,” Mamadou Siby, mayor of the Marena commune in the Kayes region, told The Associated Press.
“These deceased young people left my commune seven months ago to work in the construction industry in Mauritania. They encouraged me to come to these countries, but in most cases I made the dangerous journey without even informing my family back home.”
