Moroccan boat tragedy: FO confirms identities of 13 Pakistanis
Pakistan
Out of around 66 Pakistanis on board, only 22 survived: Reports
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Foreign Office (FO) confirmed that 13 Pakistanis died in last month’s boat tragedy near Mauritania-Morocco.
The FO had earlier reported that the boat, carrying 80 people, capsised near Morocco on January 16. Over 40 Pakistanis were believed to be among the dead.
Migrant rights group Walking Borders estimated that around 50 people may have drowned while trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa.
Reports suggest that more than 40 Pakistanis were killed by African human traffickers on the boat. Out of around 66 Pakistanis on board, only 22 survived. The survivors were brought back to Pakistan, with the last group of eight arriving in Islamabad on Saturday.
In a statement, the FO confirmed that after thorough verification, the bodies of 13 Pakistanis have been identified. The remains of four—Muhammad Arslan Khan, Qaisar Iqbal, Hamid Shabbir, and Sajjad Ali—will arrive in Islamabad on February 5 via a Saudi Airlines flight.
More to read: Investigative teams reach Morocco to probe boat capsizing
Initial investigations revealed that the majority of the traffickers involved are reportedly from Wazirabad, Lahore, Gujrat, and Sialkot. The victims paid between Rs1.6 to Rs2.5 million each to human traffickers for a promised air trip to Spain. However, they were illegally sent to Ethiopia and then to Senegal on visit visas.
From there, the traffickers forced them to travel by sea, demanding more money during the journey.
