As Pakistanis die in fresh Mediterranean tragedy, a question lingers: Why?

Pakistani men, including some with a level of financial stability, are embarking on a dangerous new route to Europe.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Rehan Aslam’s family ran a transport and car rental business, and grocery stores. Rehan helped run those businesses.

But five months ago, the 34-year-old sold his car, a Toyota Hiace wagon, for 4.5 million rupees ($16,000) to pay an agent who would help him leave behind his life in his village, Jora, in Gujrat district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, in search of a future in Europe.

He never made it.

Rehan, a father of two girls and a boy, was among 86 people who boarded a passenger boat on January 2 near Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania in West Africa, aiming for the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa controlled by Spain.

Stranded at sea for more than 13 days, the vessel was eventually rescued by Moroccan authorities – with only 36 survivors on board. Rabia Kasuri, Pakistan’s acting ambassador to Morocco, confirmed that at least 65 Pakistanis were on board the boat: of them, 43 were dead, while 22 survived.