There was little hope for survivors on Sunday after the search for 48 missing people failed. Regional President Fernando Clavijo said on Saturday evening that the missing people may have died. Nine bodies were recovered after the accident. 27 migrants were rescued.
According to the Spanish Coast Guard, the boat carrying 84 passengers sank about seven kilometers south of the Canary Island of El Hierro on Saturday evening. According to the Coast Guard, the boat capsized during the rescue operation because all the passengers were crowded on one side of the boat.
For some time now, an increasing number of people have been heading to the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, in the hope of a better life in Europe. According to government figures, more than 22,300 migrants had arrived on the islands on nearly 300 boats by mid-August.
The route across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands is particularly dangerous, but is less closely monitored than in the Mediterranean. According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 4,857 people have died or disappeared on the road since 2014, and the NGO Caminando Fronteras estimates that more than 18,600 people have died in transit.
