44 Pakistani migrants among 50 feared dead on Spain-bound boat

44 Pakistani migrants are feared dead after a boat carrying 86 people, including 66 Pakistanis, ran into trouble off the West African coast en route to Spain, migrant rights group Walking Borders said on Thursday.

Moroccan authorities on Wednesday rescued 36 people from a boat that had departed from Mauritania on January 2, the group based in Madrid and Navarra said, and had carried 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis.

Pakistani government's response

Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed "deep sorrow and grief" over the incident and offered prayers for the Pakistani nationals who lost their lives. Sharif promised strict action against those involved in human smuggling, stating that "no negligence of any kind will be tolerated."

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has confirmed that several survivors, including Pakistani nationals, are currently being housed in a camp near the Moroccan port of Dakhla. The ministry has activated its crisis management unit and dispatched a team from the Pakistani embassy in Rabat to provide assistance to the survivors.

"Our Embassy in Rabat is in touch with local authorities," the Foreign Ministry stated, adding that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has instructed relevant government agencies to "extend all possible facilitation to the affected Pakistanis."

30 die per day

A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024, most while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary islands, according to Walking Borders.

The rights group said it had alerted authorities from all countries involved six days ago about the missing boat.

Alarm Phone, an NGO that provides an emergency phone line for migrants lost at sea, said it had alerted Spain's maritime rescue service on Jan. 12.

The service said it did not have any information about the boat.

44 Pakistanis feared dead

Citing the Walking Borders' post on social media platform X, the Canary Islands' regional leader Fernando Clavijo expressed his sorrow for the victims and urged Spain and Europe to act to prevent further tragedies.

"The Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa," Clavijo said on X. "They cannot continue to turn their backs on this humanitarian drama."

Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno said on X that 44 of those who drowned were from Pakistan.

"They spent 13 days of anguish on the crossing without anyone coming to rescue them," she said.