Pakistan said on Thursday it had been informed by its embassy in Morocco that a boat carrying 80 passengers, including some Pakistanis, had set off from Mauritania and capsized near Dakhla, a Moroccan-controlled port city in the disputed Western Sahara.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 40 Pakistanis are feared to have drowned in the capsizing of a boat off West Africa's Atlantic coastline, which has emerged as a primary point of departure for migrants aiming to reach Europe. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths and stressed the need for strict measures to curb human trafficking.

The tragedy comes just a day after a similar incident near Morocco killed at least 50 people, including several Pakistanis.

The Pakistani government has launched an extensive crackdown on human traffickers, though hundreds of Pakistanis continue to perish annually while attempting to reach Europe. In 2023, an overcrowded boat carrying Pakistani migrants sank off Greece, killing an estimated 350 people in one of the deadliest incidents in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a post on X, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the boat carrying 80 passengers “capsized” off the coast of the disputed region of Western Sahara. “Several survivors, including Pakistanis, are lodged in a camp near Dakhla. Our embassy in Rabat is in ...

More than 40 Pakistanis are feared drowned after a migrant boat capsized off West Africa, highlighting the dangers of human trafficking.

For thirteen days, the ship was left adrift in the water. However, the reason of the migrants’ deaths is unknown. The boat carrying 80 people “capsized” near the coast of the disputed Western Sahara area, according to a post on X from Pakistan’s Foreign Office.

Pakistan said it had been informed by its ... a Moroccan-controlled port city in the disputed Western Sahara. Almost all the Pakistanis who were on the boat were from cities in the eastern Punjab ...