Four Moroccan migrants were found dead near their boat off the Spanish city of Cadiz (south) on Wednesday, a police source told AFP.
• Also read: UN concerned about the fate of Afghan migrants expelled from Pakistan
• Also read: Shipwrecked or victims of human trafficking? Mystery surrounding the disappearance of Venezuelan migrants off the coast of Colombia
Four Moroccan men were found “a priori drowned” near their boat carrying 32 other Moroccan migrants that landed on two beaches near Cadiz, the same source said.
Four of these migrants arrived hypothermic and one of them was hospitalized.
Spanish police have launched an investigation.
Spain is one of the main migration gateways to Europe, particularly via the Western Mediterranean with boats departing from Morocco or Algeria.
According to the latest figures from the Spanish Interior Ministry, no fewer than 13,044 migrants arrived in mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands between January 1 and November 15, 11.5% more than in the same period last year.
According to the European agency Frontex, Moroccans make up almost half of the people taking this migration route, ahead of Algerians.