POLICE have said for the first time they believe “at least” 50 migrants were tortured and thrown overboard on a boat heading to the Canary Islands.

The victims are feared to have been accused of witchcraft on the horror crossing from Africa.

The first allegations of mass high seas executions on board the overcrowded vessel emerged at the start of the month.

It came as 248 survivors were rescued off the African coast and taken to Gran Canaria .

Detectives began investigating after witnesses brought ashore claimed to have seen fellow migrants beaten up and shot by people smugglers.

The gang accused them of being witches when they suffered engine problems and started running out of food.

Subsequent reports said 17 men - 16 Senegalese nationals and one Gambian - had been arrested and r

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