Local media reports say the small vessel appears to be packed with over 100 people.
Four women and three girls were killed when a small boat carrying dozens of refugees and migrants capsized while approaching the port in one of Spain’s Canary Islands, according to Spanish emergency services.
Local media reports said the small vessel appeared to be packed with more than 100 people on Wednesday. Spanish rescuers and members of the Red Cross pulled people away from the water.
Red Cross spokesman Alexis Ramos said broadcaster RTVE could have “more than 100 people” on the boat, but could not provide numbers for the number of missing people.
Spanish maritime rescuers said the boat was turned over as rescuers began to take away minors after they arrived at the dock on El Hiero Island. The service initially found a boat about 10 km (6 miles) from the coast.
The sudden movement of people on the boat made it tilt and then flipped over, dumping the residents into the water, Service said.
Canary Islands Emergency Services said four women, a teenage girl and two young girls died in the accident. The helicopter evacuated two children, a girl and a boy, to a local hospital in a critical condition after they nearly drowned, the service added.
Situated off the west coast of Africa, the Spanish archipelago has been the main path for refugees and migrants who risked their lives on dinghy and rubber boats that were not suitable for long journeys in the open sea for years.
Thousands of people have been killed on their way to European territory on a dangerous journey from Africa across the Atlantic.
About 47,000 people who built the intersection last year arrived in the Canary Islands. Most were citizens of Mali, Senegal and Morocco, and many boarding ships from the Mauritania coast to Spain.
Arrivals include thousands of unaccompanied children.
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