Nine migrants killed in Morocco boat accident

At least nine migrants were killed, including three babies, as their makeshift boat sinks early Friday in northern Morocco, reported the local authorities of Tangiers.

21 other migrants were secured and transfered to local hospital in Tangiers.

There were 30 migrants in the makeshift boat heading for Spain from the Moroccan terretories it added.

Two helicopters and four naval vessels were dispatched in the region and search operations are still going on in a rough and cold water.

Morocco has become a hub for African migrants who seek to reach Europe in search for a better life. Thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and unrest in Africa try to enter Europe each year via Morocco, either by land into Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish ports in the Moroccan territory, or by sea to Spain or Italy, often in flimsy vessels.

But after European countries and Morocco tightened security control in the strait of Gibraltar, Morocco became a host country of migrants.

--Extracts from Punch News