At least nine migrants, including three babies were killed, when a makeshift boat they were travelling in sunk in the waters of northern Morocco Friday, authorities in Tangiers said.
There were 30 migrants in the makeshift boat that was heading for Spain, according to a Xinhua report. Twenty-one other migrants were rescued and transfered to a local hospital in Tangiers.
Two helicopters and four naval vessels were despatched in the region and search operations were underway in rough and cold waters.
Morocco has become a hub for African migrants who seek to reach Europe in search of a better life.
Thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and unrest in Africa try to enter Europe each year via Morocco, either by land into Ceuta and Melilla -- the permanently inhabited Spanish cities in mainland Africa -- or by sea into Spain or Italy, often in flimsy vessels.