Spanish authorities have found a boat near the Canary Islands with 10 dead migrants on board, while another 45 have perished in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast.<\/p>\n
A plane spotted the first vessel while searching for a missing boat that had left Mauritania on 15 August with about 40 people on board and was believed to be heading to the Spanish islands off north-west Africa.<\/p>\n
Two Spanish Maritime Rescue Service vessels reached the shipwreck about 85 miles south of the island of Gran Canaria.<\/p>\n
The journey from western Africa to the Canary Islands has increasingly attracted migrants wanting to reach Europe without crossing the Mediterranean, where authorities have cracked down on boats.<\/p>\n
It comes as 45 migrants - mainly from African countries - were found dead in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.<\/p>\n
The UN said it was \"deeply concerned\" and criticised the \"sharp reduction\" in efforts by European countries to respond to distress calls and carry out search and rescue operations.<\/p>\n
\"We urge states to swiftly respond to these incidents and systematically provide a predictable port of safety to people rescued at sea,\" the UN Refugee Agency said in a joint statement with the International Organization for Migration. \"Delays recorded in recent months, and failure to assist, are unacceptable and put lives at avoidable risk.\"<\/p>\n
NGO boats have stepped in to save lives \"in the continued absence of any dedicated, EU-led search and rescue programme\" - but this is not enough, the UN said.<\/p>\n
When commercial vessels are the nearest boat capable of carrying out a rescue, the agency said they need to be quickly given a safe location for disembarking the rescued passengers.<\/p>\n
They \"should not be instructed\" to return people to Libya, where they are at risk of \"severe human rights violations\" and \"arbitrary detention\".<\/p>\n
Libyan authorities are increasingly taking responsibility for rescue operations, which has led to 7,000 people being returned to the country since January.<\/p>\n
The agency welcomed the efforts of \"two-thirds\" of European countries who have continued to receive refugees despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\"The pandemic should not be used as an excuse to deny people access to all forms of international protection,\" the UN added.<\/p>\n
More than 300 migrants have died trying to cross the sea from Libya to Europe so far this year.<\/p>\n
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Dozens of migrants found dead in shipwrecks near Canary Islands and Libya - Sky News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spanish authorities have found a boat near the Canary Islands with 10 dead migrants on board, while another 45 have perished in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast. A plane spotted the first vessel while searching for a missing boat that had left Mauritania on 15 August with about 40 people on board and was believed to be heading to the Spanish islands off north-west Africa. Two Spanish Maritime Rescue Service vessels reached the shipwreck about 85 miles south of the island of Gran Canaria Continue reading