70 migrants killed trying to reach Canary Islands amid horror 'murder' claims

An investigation has been launched after around 70 migrants were killed in brutal 'sea executions' as they attempted to reach the Canary Islands.

According to reports, some of them were murdered, with their bodies being thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. Survivors claim some of the migrants were shot after the boat suffered from engine issues. The boat was also experiencing overloading.

Spanish news website Okdiario, claimed between 20 and 30 migrantsare being investigated on suspicion of carrying out the murders. They are said to be in refugee centres at this time. It has been reported that the victims were accused of stealing water, before they were accused of witchcraft as the supplies became low onboard.

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The site also said detectives were “close to making the first arrests” over incidents that took place on the vessel while it was adrift for more than a week before their rescue by Spanish coastguards. Police have yet to comment on the website’s report or another overnight by respected Spanish news agency EFE saying they had witness statements claiming “some murders” were committed on the boat.

Survivors are also said to have told investigators several migrants died of thirst and hunger and others threw themselves overboard after suffering delirium caused by dehydration. It was not clear this morning if any women or children are among the alleged victims. Spanish coastguards rescued around 250 people on board the stricken boat west of the city of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara territory, 265 miles from the Canaries, following an August 24 alert from a passing merchant vessel.

Survivors are understood to have told officials after they were brought ashore at Arguineguin on Gran Canaria’s southern coast on August 25 around 320 people started the journey before they ran into problems at sea. In June, Spanish police confirmed they had launched an investigation after the bodies of five migrants were found in the sea off the Balearic Islands with their hands and feet bound.

Initial speculation centred on the possibility they could have been murdered and thrown overboard. The families of the men who died, all Somalians, later revealed they were shackled in a death ritual after they perished from starvation as they tried to reach Europe.

They had been on a boat that was rescued on May 8 by Spanish coastguards 62 miles from Alicante, with 16 male survivors suffering dehydration and other health problems and a dead man on board.
The vessel had left Algeria a fortnight earlier before it was left adrift following engine problems.

During their trip they ended up having to eat just one date a day and drink their own urine, with the men whose bodies were recovered from the Mediterranean said to have fatally opted to drink sea water to try to survive. Red Cross chiefs said after their rescue: “One of the people rescued had eaten toothpaste because it was the only thing he had. He didn’t want to let go of the tube when he reached dry land.”