A Spanish NGO said at least 43 migrants, including three babies and 14 women, died on Sunday in southern Morocco.

Caminando Fronteras said the migrants died after their boat sank off Tarfaya with at least 10 others rescued.

However, only two bodies among the 43 dead migrants – who are mostly from sub-Saharan Africa have been recovered, said the Spanish NGO.

This followed assessments on the basis of testimonies from survivors or families of the migrants, Caminando Fronteras said.

A spokesperson for the organization revealed that it took the Moroccan authorities’ hours to locate and save the boat off Tarfaya after the incident occurred on Sunday.

And although no additional information on this shipwreck has been communicated by Moroccan officials, sources say the migrants were trying to reach the Canary Islands, in Spain, a hundred kilometers from Tarfaya. 

Recall the Spanish NGO in a report early this month announced that more than 4,000 migrants died or disappeared during their sea crossing to Spain last year, twice as many as in 2020. 

It said the bodies of almost all of them (94%) were never found and are therefore counted as missing.