Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Misfortunes continue striking Pakistani unemployed youth trying to reach European countries illegally in search of jobs. In the latest tragedy, at least 44 illegal Pakistani migrants trying to reach Spain from Mauritania in Africa have lost their lives in the sea near Morocco.
According to a foreign news agency, the boat with 86 illegal migrants, mostly Pakistanis, on board left Mauritania on January 2. Moroccan officials said a total of 66 Pakistanis were on board and 36 people have been rescued.
Of the Pakistanis killed, 12 were residents of Gujrat and the rest belonged to Sialkot and Mandi Bahauddin.
According to family sources, the 12 youth from Gujrat had left home after paying millions of rupees to an agent and were destined to reach Europe four months ago. One of the survivors told his family on phone that human smugglers left the boat in the sea, demanding more money. As a result, many of the migrants fell sick and died due to severe cold and shortage of food. He said the human traffickers also forcibly threw some of the sick persons into the sea and also tortured many.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said they were collecting details about the accident from Mauritania.
