FLASH
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More than 30 migrants are believed to have died after their boat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary Islands, according to two charities, Walking Borders and Alarm Phone.
They said the boat was carrying about 60 people. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities said rescue workers found the bodies of a minor and a man and rescued another 24 people, but did not know how many people were on board.
The incident puts fresh scrutiny on Europe's response to migration after a boat capsized off Greece last week. Helena Maleno Garzon, of Walking Borders, said 39 people had drowned, including four women and a baby, while Alarm Phone said 35 people were missing.
Both organizations monitor migrant boats and receive calls from people on board or their relatives. The ship sank about 100 miles (160 km) south-east of Gran Canaria on Wednesday.
A Spanish rescue service vessel, the Guardamar Caliope, was only about an hour away from the dinghy on Tuesday evening, Reuters reported, citing Spanish state news agency EFE.
The ship did not help the raft because the operation was taken over by Moroccan officials, who sent a patrol boat that arrived on Wednesday morning, 10 hours after it was spotted by a Spanish rescue plane, Reuters reports. The BBC has sent a request for comment to Morocco's interior ministry.
Angel Victor Torres, the leader of the Canary Islands region, described the incident as a "tragedy" and called on the European Union to create a migration policy that "offers coordinated and supportive responses" to the issue of migration.
The news comes after a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people sank off the Greek coast last week, with at least 78 dead, though many more are suspected to have drowned.
The UN human rights office says up to 500 people are still missing and the BBC has obtained evidence that casts doubt on the Greek coastguard's account of what happened. The Coast Guard claims the ship was on a course to Italy and did not require rescue.
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