GENEVA/RABAT: At least 34 migrants have died in a shipwreck in the western Mediterranean, which 26 people survived, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday, citing the Moroccan navy and a Spanish aid agency.
Joel Millman, spokesman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told Reuters: “The boat was adrift since Sunday with 60 people aboard. At least 34 have drowned, it looks like there were 26 survivors.”
The information came from the Moroccan navy and a Spanish non-governmental oragnization Caminando Fronteras, he said.
A Moroccan official, asking not to be named, said 11 bodies had been recovered, adding that the dead were all migrants, not Moroccan nationals.
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34 migrants drown in Mediterranean shipwreck, 26 survivors — UN
34 migrants drown in Mediterranean shipwreck, 26 survivors — UN
- “The boat was adrift since Sunday with 60 people aboard..." IOM spokesman said
- A Moroccan official said 11 bodies had been recovered
UK secures migrant return deal with Angola, Namibia; DRC faces visa curbs
LONDON: Angola and Namibia have agreed to accept the return of illegal migrants and criminals after the British government threatened visa penalties for countries refusing to cooperate, the UK Home Office said late on Saturday.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential treatment for VIPs and decision-makers after failing to meet Britain’s requirements to improve cooperation, the Home Office said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Britain could escalate measures to a complete halting of visas for the DRC unless “co-operation rapidly improves.”
“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back,” the Home Secretary added.
The agreements mark the first major change under reforms announced last month to make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally in Britain.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK has “removed more than 50,000 people with no right to remain” since July last year, a 23 percent increase on the previous period, and instructed diplomats to make returns a top priority.
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