Four migrants drown off Morocco coast, 34 rescued

Four sub-Saharan African migrants drowned on Wednesday after their boat capsized off the Moroccan coast, local media reported. A further 34 people including five women were rescued during a joint operation by local police and rescue services, semi-official news agency MAP quoted local authorities as saying. The inflatable boat had capsized off the northern city of Al-Hoceima, it said, adding the prosecutor's office had opened a probe "to clarify the circumstances of this attempt at illegal emigration".
Migrants often attempt to reach Europe via the Strait of Gibraltar, just 16 kilometres (10 miles) wide at its narrowest point, leaving from a point on the coast several hundred kilometres west of Al-Hoceima.