Shipwreck off Sahara kills 10, 24 missing-NGO

MADRID, Nov 28 (Reuters) Ten child migrants have drowned in the waters off Western Sahara and another 24 people in a separate boat are missing, Moroccan NGO Alter Forum told Spanish state radio.

Abdellah El Hairach, Vice-President of Alter Forum said his organisation were looking for a boat carrying 24 immigrants that had been missing for some time, when they found another shipwrecked boat and the bodies of the 10 children. He said one child had survived.

Apparently referring to the same incident, Spanish news agency EFE quoted a Moroccan human rights association as saying two boats had been shipwrecked, killing 10 children, with 21 missing and another 13 rescued by the Moroccan coastguard as they tried to reach the Spanish Canary Islands.

El Hairach said it was increasingly common for children to attempt the voyage to the Canaries as it was more difficult for Madrid to repatriate minors than adults.

Reuters DH VP0417