SPANISH police are investigating a potential massacre onboard a migrant boat – with disturbing reports of executions and people throwing themselves into the sea.
Around 320 people were on the wooden “cayuco” canoe when it left West Africa, but only 251 made it to the Canary Islands – leaving 70 lost along the way.
Judicial sources confirmed to Spanish news agency EFE that some of the deaths were being investigated as murder, after survivors told of deliberate executions.
A small group of passengers accused some of their boatmates of witchcraft, shot them and dumped their bodies into the Atlantic, according to unconfirmed reports in OKDiario .
Cops are said to be seeking up to 30 men in migrant shelters across the Canary Islands in their investigation.
Other passengers are said to have died from dehydration, or thrown themselves overboard in a state of delirium.
It was not clear this morning if any women or children are among the alleged victims.
Police are yet to comment on the reports.
The journey from hell began when a cayuco set off from Western Sahara for the Canary Islands.
There were apparently 320 people on the boat when it left Africa, but only 251 when it was rescued by Spanish coastguards.
It’s thought the boat’s engine broke down shortly into the journey, meaning the migrants were stranded under the hot sun with limited supplies.
Reports say some passengers were initially accused of theft or depleting the water supply.
But the these became more extreme as the grim journey continued – eventually building to cries of witchcraft.
While some of the passengers died of natural causes, up to 30 of the younger male passengers are suspected of plotting against and killing an unspecified number of their boatmates in cold blood.
The boat was spotted adrift a merchant ship on Sunday, August 24.
Morocco, which shares responsibility for the waters with Spain, said it didn’t have the resources to deal with the emergency.
Spanish coastguards rescued around 250 people on board the stricken boat west of the city of Dakhla, 265 miles from the Canaries.
Survivors told rescuers on their arrival to the port of Arguineguin that they had been at sea for around 11 days.
They confirmed to police that dozens had died from a lack of water but that some were deliberately executed, EFE reports.
Spain’s national police force is urgently working to identify all those involved in the plot.
They are thought to have dispersed amongst migrant shelters on the Canary Islands.
Some of the alleged killers have been identified and will be arrested soon, according to OKDiario , citing judicial sources.
If convicted, the men could face life imprisonment.
To reach the archipelago from Africa, boats must cross the “Western Route”, which is infamously dangerous for migrants.
The Canary Islands government has begged Spain to declare an a migrant emergency in the archipelago as its system creaks under the huge number of migrants arriving.
Canarian president Fernando Clavijo said last week: “There are no longer any excuses to begin this process.
“I am convinced that the Public Prosecutor’s Office will intervene if necessary to ensure compliance.”
In particular, it is struggling to deal with unaccompanied minors, who it is obliged to house.
The Canaries saw a record number of migrants arriving in 2024 – and the figures account for the vast majority of migrants reaching Spanish territory.
Almost 47,000 arrived last year – which is 10,000 more than the UK.
They are currently hosting 5,017 minors – more than three times the official capacity of 1,737.
Earlier this year, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that unaccompanied migrants must be distributed around the country in order to ease pressure on places like the Canary Islands.
The first ten children were transferred from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to the mainland in August 2025.
