Five people believed to have drowned near the Canaries

Five people are believed to have drowned after attempting to reach a merchant vessel from an inflatable.

The tragic incident occurred on Thursday morning when an inflatable craft carrying migrants from the African coast spotted a merchant vessel. Several migrants threw themselves into the water in an attempt to reach the boat.

The inflatable was later intercepted by the Maritime Rescue boat Polimnia, which took a total of 55 people – 44 men, 11 women and six children – to Arrecife pier. Interviews with the survivors established that 5 people – four men and a woman, were missing. Searches by boat and helicopter failed to encounter any of the victims.

The number of migrants reaching the Canaries by sea has dropped considerably this year, a fact that a Canarian Government spokesman has attributed to “co-operation with countries of origin by the EU and Spanish government in the areas of migrant control and development.”