SPANISH police are investigating a potential massacre onboard a migrant boat – with disturbing reports of executions and people throwing themselves into the sea.
Around 320 people were on the wooden “cayuco” canoe when it left West Africa, but only 251 made it to the Canary Islands – leaving 70 lost along the way.
AFPThe migrants were crammed into a large wooden ‘cayuco’ canoe, like this one[/caption]
AFPIt arrived in the Canary Islands from West Africa with 72 fewer people than when it set off (stock image)[/caption]
Getty320 people were on the wooden canoe when it left West Africa – only 248 made it to the Canary Islands[/caption]
Judicial sources confirmed to Spanish news agency EFE that some of the deaths were being investigated as murder, after survivors told of deliberate executions.
A small group of passengers accused some of their boatmates of witchcraft, shot them and dumped their bodies into the Atlantic, according to unconfirmed reports in OKDiario.
Cops are said to be seeking up to 30 men in migrant shelters across the Canary Islands in their investigation.
Other passengers are said to have died from dehydration, or thrown themselves overboard in a state of delirium.
It was not clear this morning if any women or children are among the alleged victims.
Police are yet to comment on the reports.
The journey from hell began when a cayuco set off from Western Sahara for the Canary Islands.
There were apparently 320 people on the boat when it left Africa, but only 251 when it was rescued by Spanish coastguards.
It’s thought the boat’s engine broke down shortly into the journey, meaning the migrants were stranded under the hot sun with limited supplies.
Reports say some passengers were initially accused of theft or depleting the water supply.
But the these became more extreme as the grim journey continued – eventually building to cries of witchcraft.
While some of the passengers died of natural causes, up to 30 of the younger male passengers are suspected of plotting against and killing an unspecified number of their boatmates in cold blood.
The boat was spotted adrift a merchant ship on Sunday, August 24.
Morocco, which shares responsibility for the waters with Spain, said it didn’t have the resources to deal with the emergency.
Spanish coastguards rescued around 250 people on board the stricken boat west of the city of Dakhla, 265 miles from the Canaries.
Survivors told rescuers on their arrival to the port of Arguineguin that they had been at sea for around 11 days.
They confirmed to police that dozens had died from a lack of water but that some were deliberately executed, EFE reports.
Spain’s national police force is urgently working to identify all those involved in the plot.
They are thought to have dispersed amongst migrant shelters on the Canary Islands.
Some of the alleged killers have been identified and will be arrested soon, according to OKDiario, citing judicial sources.
If convicted, the men could face life imprisonment.
To reach the archipelago from Africa, boats must cross the “Western Route”, which is infamously dangerous for migrants.
‘Migrant emergency’ on the Canaries
OFFICIALS on the Canary Islands are demanding a state of emergency be declared to combat the growing migrant crisis.
Around 47,000 people arrived in Spain on small boats last year with government officials saying the number of unaccompanied minors has reached almost three times the official capacity.
This year alone, from January 1, to May 15, 10,882 people have reached the Canaries via maritime routes.
Many of these include young children with the government now admitting they are struggling to keep them all safe due to the volume of those arriving.
The popular holiday islands have a recognised capacity to house 1,737 migrant children.
But the number coming over from parts of West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean have skyrocketed recently with 5,017 minors now on the archipelago.
Concerned officials on the Canary Islands formally asked the Spanish government to declare a migration emergency after the figures were revealed.
Earlier this year, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that unaccompanied migrants must be distributed around the country in order to ease pressure on places like the Canary Islands.
The first ten children were transferred from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to the mainland in August 2025.
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