(: Nearly 70 migrants died when their boat sank as they tried to reach Spain earlier this month, Mali’s Minister for Malians Living Abroad said. In a press release on Thursday, Mossa Ag Attaher announced that a migrant boat bound for Spain sank on December 19. The migrants in this boat “numbered 80 at the start, with only 11 survivors,” according to the Ministry. The Malian authorities have identified nine Malians among the survivors, and “25 young Malians have unfortunately been formally identified among the victims,” the minister added.
