Moroccan authorities say they have stopped 57,000 migrants from illegally crossing to Spain between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1 CAIRO, RABAT: The UN refugee agency and Libya’s coast guard say a boat carrying at least 50 Europe-bound migrants has capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. Coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim tells The Associated Press that the shipwreck took place off the western city of Misrata. He did not provide details and said rescuers are on their way to the site. Alarm Phone, an independent support group for people crossing the Mediterranean, says “about 56 lives at risk.” The group said it received a call from migrants on the boat, who left Libya’s shores days ago, saying that “they are desperately calling for help and are afraid to die.” Searately, at least seven Moroccan migrants were found dead on Saturday off Morocco’s Atlantic coast near Casablanca after their boat capsized, the Interior Ministry said. Three others were taken unconscious to hospital, while search operations are ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The incident reflects a growing trend in illegal migration to Spain from the Atlantic coast following a government crackdown on Mediterranean routes. Morocco is only 14 km south of the Spanish coast at the strait of Gibraltar and shares land borders with the small Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta on its Mediterranean coast. Moroccan authorities say they have stopped 57,000 migrants from illegally crossing to Spain between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1.