Over 50 Moroccan migrants, including children, missing at sea

A group of 51 Moroccan migrants have been missing for days since embarking on a perilous sea journey to Spain's Canary Islands off Morocco's Atlantic coast, a family member said Thursday.

Spain is a major gateway for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

Attempts to reach the Canaries by boat from Morocco and the disputed Western Sahara have increased in recent days due to favourable weather conditions.

Amine Aharrouy told AFP one of his relatives was "supposed to take a clandestine migration boat from Agadir towards the Canary Islands at dawn on Sunday, June 11, according to the information we have".

"To this day, we haven't heard any news as to what happened to him," Aharrouy said.

"We hope the Moroccan authorities can shed light on their fate," he added on behalf of the families of the 50 other migrants said to have joined the attempted crossing.

The missing migrants are from El Attaouia province near Marrakesh, according to Aharrouy.

Asked about the case, authorities in Morocco did not comment.

The Hespress news website has reported testimonies by relatives of some of the other migrants, but no further information concerning their disappearance was available.

On Thursday, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) called for an "immediate investigation" and urged authorities to crack down on "human trafficking and irregular migration networks that have caused great tragedies".

Helena Maleno of Spanish migrant rights group Walking Border tweeted on June 11 that "58 people, including 21 women and a baby, nearly died in a shipwreck... while headed for Las Palmas", the islands' most populous city.

Their boat sank in the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city, she said.

And on Wednesday, a sinking about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Spain's Gran Canaria killed at least two people, according to the Spanish coast guard.

Citing survivors and family members, Walking Borders has put the toll at 39 deaths including four women and a baby.