More than 50 illegal migrants were missing off the northwest African coast after their boat sank, Moroccan state news agency MAP reported.

The Moroccan navy rescued six migrants from the boat, which was headed for the Spanish Canary Islands, MAP said, citing sources in the Saharan port of Dakhla.

Thousands of sub-Saharan migrants trek north through the desert and pay traffickers for passage to Europe on overcrowded boats to escape poverty at home.

Fewer are making the ocean voyage from West Africa to the Canaries than last year, when over 30,000 migrants arrived and many others died in the attempt. But witnesses say the journey has got more dangerous as there are fewer seaworthy boats available and many trafficking gangs familiar with the crossing have migrated to Europe.

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