At Least 50 Migrants Including 44 Pakistanis Killed After Their Boat En Route To Spain Capsized

,  

(@Abdulla99267510)

At least 50 migrants including 44 Pakistanis killed after their boat en route to Spain capsized

 

Families reveal human traffickers had taken all migrants to Mauritania on valid visas and kept them in a safe house before sending them on ill-fated journey

MAURITANIA: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Jan 16th, 2025) At least 50 people including 44 Pakistanis were killed after a boat carrying them illegally from African country of Mauritania to Spain met an accident, the international media reported on Thursday.

A boat carrying migrants illegally from the African country of Mauritania to Spain has met with an accident, resulting in the deaths of 50 people, including 44 Pakistanis.

According to a news agency, the boat carrying 86 migrants departed from Mauritania on January 2. Moroccan authorities stated that a total of 66 Pakistanis were onboard, and 36 people have been rescued from the incident.

A human rights organization reported that Spain's maritime rescue service was informed about the boat's disappearance on January 12.

However, the Spanish maritime service has denied having any information regarding the migrant boat.

According to sources in the Foreign Ministry, details of the boat accident in Mauritania are being gathered, and an official statement will be issued after the information is confirmed.

Among the 44 Pakistanis who lost their lives, 12 were residents of Gujrat. Additionally, individuals from Sialkot and Mandi Bahauddin were also onboard the boat.

According to the families, the 12 young men had left for Europe four months ago.

When the smugglers did not receive further payments, they left the boat stranded in the sea.

A Pakistani survivor of the incident informed his family over the phone that while the boat was stranded, the extreme cold caused some passengers to fall ill, and food supplies were also running low. In such conditions, the human traffickers forcibly threw sick individuals into the sea and even killed some by torture.

The families stated that the migrant boat had left for Spain on January 2. The human traffickers demanded more money and kept the boat stranded in the sea for eight days.

Among the passengers, five belonged to the village of Jora Karnana in Gujrat.

Of the five, four lost their lives while one survived.

The deceased were identified as Rehan, Umar Farooq, Ali Raza and Abu Bakar. Sole survivor Zahid Butt has managed to contact his family.

Zahid Butt informed his family over the phone about the tragedy.

He said that the smugglers stopped the boat and kept demanding money while also torturing Pakistani migrants.

The families revealed that the human traffickers had taken all the migrants to Mauritania on valid visas and kept them in a safe house before sending them on the ill-fated journey.