Arrest

The Spanish police say they have arrested 19 people suspected of murder and torture after more than 50 disappeared from a migrant boat traveling from Senegal to the Canary Islands.

Police suspect that some of the victims were accused of “witches” after several incidents during the trip, including engine damage, bad weather and a shortage of food.

The wooden ship was rescued south by Gran Canaria on August 24 with 248 survivors on board, the Spanish National Police said.

But employees believe that about 300 people were initially on the boat and that some were thrown overboard.

The survivors told police that some of their fellow travelers had started “attacking dozens of people, beat them and abusing them in different ways,” a police statement said.

“In some cases, they threw migrants alive into the sea and refused to save those who fell by accident.”

The suspected killings were also documented “simply because some people protested or expressed their dissatisfaction with the travel conditions,” the statement said.

A male passenger died in hospital after being found seriously ill when the ship was intercepted, according to police.

Those on board included people from Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bisau, local media reported.

All 19 suspects are in pre -detention facing accusations of facilitating improper immigration, murder, attack and torture.

Spain is one of the front lines of the first line for incorrect migration in Europe, with most entering the Canary Islands.

Almost 47,000 migrants reached the archipelago in 2024, setting a record for a second year, but its number has been far more unique this year, the Spanish Ministry of Interior announced.