Overview

• Spanish coastguards brought about 250 survivors to Arguineguín on Gran Canaria after a merchant vessel alerted them on August 24 to a boat adrift west of Dakhla.
• Judicial sources told EFE that some deaths on the voyage are under investigation as suspected murders.
• Survivors reported that passengers accused others of theft and witchcraft, that some were shot and dumped overboard, and that others died of dehydration or jumped into the sea in delirium.
• The Sun later reported police said “several people” have been arrested and will appear in court, while OkDiario previously said 20–30 migrants were under suspicion.
• The boat reportedly suffered engine failure early in the journey and drifted for about 11 days, intensifying scrutiny of the perilous Western Route and strained reception capacity in the Canary Islands.