39 migrants missing after dinghy sinks off coast of Malaga
Xinhua, October 30, 2015 Adjust font size:
Spanish Maritime Rescue services were on Thursday looking for 39 migrants who are missing at sea after the boat they were travelling in sank off the coast of Malaga in the south-east of Spain.
The Spanish coastguard localized the dinghy with two women and 13 men holding on to it around 39 nautical miles north-west of the Moroccan town of Al Hoceima, opposite Malaga.
It is thought that a total of 54 people were travelling on the dinghy, meaning 39 are missing.
"One of the rescued women said the boat had lost its floor at around two in the morning, and many people who were travelling it were lost ... According to the numbers provided by the rescued migrants, the boat was carrying 54 people, so 39 may be missing," confirmed the Spanish Coastguard.
A Spanish Maritime Rescue services boat and two helicopters are searching for survivors, although hopes are fading of finding anyone alive.
Over 3,000 people have died this year while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2014, while in 2014 Spanish rescue services collected around 3,500 would-be migrants from the sea. Endit