ISLAMABAD: A migrant boat carrying 86 passengers, including 66 Pakistanis, capsized near the Moroccan port of Dakhla, leaving 50 people feared dead, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders. Among the deceased, 44 are reportedly Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan’s foreign office on Thursday confirmed that a migrant boat carrying 80 passengers, including several Pakistanis, had capsized near Morocco while on its way to Spain.
Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people on Wednesday from a boat that departed Mauritania on January 2 with 86 migrants aboard, including 66 Pakistanis, according to the Walking Borders.
Helena Maleno, the group’s CEO, said that 44 of the 50 individuals presumed dead were Pakistani nationals. The boat was en route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands when it capsized.
“Our Embassy in Rabat (Morocco) has informed us that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including several Pakistani nationals, setting off from Mauritania, has capsized near the Moroccan port of Dakhla,” Pakistan’s foreign office stated.
The foreign office said that several survivors, including Pakistanis, are lodged in a camp near Dakhla while the Embassy in Rabat is in touch with local authorities. “Additionally, a team from the Embassy has been dispatched to Dakhla to facilitate the Pakistani nationals and provide necessary assistance,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Crisis Management Unit (CMU) in the Foreign Ministry has been activated and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister instructed the relevant Government agencies to extend all possible facilitation to the affected Pakistanis.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief and sorrow over the incident, ordering authorities to submit a report on the incident.
“Strict action will be taken against those involved in the heinous act of human trafficking,” said Sharif. “No negligence of any kind will be tolerated in this regard,” he said.
The capsizing of migrant boats underscores the dangerous journeys many migrants, particularly from Pakistan, embark on due to limited economic opportunities in their home countries.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, lost their lives when an overcrowded vessel overturned and sank in international waters near the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos. This tragedy ranks among the deadliest boat disasters in the history of the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2024, a record 10,457 migrants—an average of 30 per day—lost their lives attempting to reach Spain, according to Walking Borders. The majority of these deaths occurred along the Atlantic route, as migrants from West African countries, including Mauritania and Senegal, tried to reach the Canary Islands.
Last month, a tragic boat capsizing in Greece claimed the lives of several Pakistanis. It is estimated that over 80 Pakistanis drowned in the incident, with 36 survivors rescued. The others were presumed dead.