Morocco's navy on Tuesday fired on a boat carrying migrants which refused to respond to its orders, leaving a Moroccan woman dead and three other people wounded, local officials said.

The patrol was "forced" to open fire on a speedboat driven by a Spaniard who "refused to obey" orders in waters off the Moroccan locality of M'diq-Fnideq, the authorities said in a statement.

Four migrants were wounded, including a Moroccan woman who died of her injuries in hospital, a local official told AFP.

Those on board the powerboat were lying down and could not be seen, the official said.

The Spanish driver was unharmed and later arrested, according to the same source, adding an investigation had been opened.

Morocco -- a key route for sub-Saharan Africans trying to reach Europe via Spain -- said this month it has foiled 54,000 bids so far in 2018 by illegal migrants to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

The figures included 7,100 Moroccans for the period until the end of August, according to figures released last week by the Moroccan government spokesman.

Since early 2018, Spain has recorded more than 38,000 arrivals by sea and land, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Since the beginning of September, social media networks in Morocco have been inundated with videos showing young people from the North African country heading to Spain aboard inflatable boats.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Toll jumps to 22 in Philippine monsoon landslide
Manila (AFP) Sept 21, 2018
The death toll from a monsoon landslide in the central Philippines has risen to 22, officials said Friday, as rescuers dug through the night in a frantic search for survivors of the latest tragedy in the storm-hit nation. Dozens were still missing after part of a massive hillside collapsed Thursday on several rural communities near Naga on the tourist island of Cebu. The rescue effort came as the nation was still reeling from Typhoon Mangkhut, which killed 88, mostly in a massive landslide in th ... read more