Women and children killed after migrant boat capsizes in Canary Islands
The maritime rescue service reported the boat, carrying more than 100 people, was located approximately 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) from the shore on Wednesday.
As rescuers began evacuating minors upon reaching the dock, the boat tipped over, throwing all passengers into the water.
According to emergency services, the deceased include four women, a teenage girl, and two younger girls. A rescue diver discovered one of the girls.
Two more children, a girl and a boy, were airlifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition following near-drowning, the service added.
Spanish rescuers and Red Cross members were involved in extracting people from the water.
The Spanish archipelago located off Africa's western coast has for years been a main route for migrants who risk their lives in dinghies and rubber boats unfit for long journeys in the open sea. Thousands have been known to die on the way to European territory.
Nearly 47,000 people who made the crossing last year reached the archipelago, surpassing previous records for a second time. Most were citizens of Mali, Senegal and Morocco, with many boarding boats to Spain from the coast of Mauritania.
The arrivals include thousands of unaccompanied minors.
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