The trial of 3 Moroccan men (YF, MSB and BJ) accused of murder of 25 young African migrants began on 18 May in Gran Canaria before the Sixth Section of Audiencia Provincial de Las Palmas. The migrants who died were all between the ages of 8 and 16. The young migrants drowned when their boat sank 20 meters from the shore in Lanzarote, Canary Islands on 15 February 2009. The boat had departed from Guelmin, Morocco on 13 February. The migrants reportedly paid between 500 and 1000 euros to be transported to the Canary Islands. The prosecution has asserted that the boat was designed for use as a small fishing boat close to shore and was not designed for travel on the open sea. Six persons on the boat survived, several of them were rescued by a local surfer.
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Click here for video – Antena 3 Canarias televisión de difusión de noticias 17 May with video of rescue operation.
Foto: J. Pérez Curbelo - http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?id=169208
MIGRANTS AT SEA 