Explosion of migrant deaths during the crossing to Spain

More than 10,400 migrants died or disappeared at sea while trying to reach Spain in 2024, a year marked by a record migratory influx in the Canary Islands, according to a report published Thursday by the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.

This figure is equivalent to 30 people dying per day on average, between January and December 15 of this year, indicates this NGO in a press release, which alerts maritime authorities regarding the presence of boats in distress. “This year becomes the deadliest” since the organization has been keeping records.

The number of deaths is 58% higher than that recorded by the NGO last year which recorded 6,618 migrants dead or missing on the migration routes to Spain.

“Rescue systems fail”

According to the report, 421 women and 1,538 children and adolescents died. “These figures highlight a profound failure of rescue and protection systems,” said Helena Maleno, coordinator of the report, denouncing “an unacceptable tragedy”.

She calls “for priority to be given to the protection of the right to life, for search and rescue operations to be strengthened, and for justice to be guaranteed for the victims and their families”.

Among “the practices that directly affect the right to life” of migrants, Caminando Fronteras points to the use of precarious boats, departures in unfavorable weather conditions, lack of water and food, and insufficient navigation equipment. .

These dead or missing migrants came from at least 28 countries, mainly African, but also came from Iraq and Pakistan.

Seven boats rescued on Christmas Day

The vast majority of victims (9,757) were recorded during the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean between the northwest coasts of Africa and the Canary Islands, according to data from the NGO.

It was precisely on this route on Wednesday, Christmas Day, that seven boats were rescued, Spanish sea rescuers announced on X.

The number of migrants entering Spain irregularly via the Canary Islands has increased sharply in recent months, until at the end of November it exceeded the annual record set in 2023, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

According to ministry data, 60,216 migrants landed in this Spanish archipelago between January and mid-December, compared to 52,591 for the whole of last year, an increase of 14.5%.

These massive arrivals have pushed the Canary Islands authorities to sound the alarm, saying in particular that they are incapable of managing the influx of unaccompanied minors who they must take care of in reception centers.

“Good coordination”

For months, the subject of immigration has been gaining importance in the Spanish political debate, to the point of interfering in the traditional Christmas speech of King Felipe VI of Spain.

“How we are able to approach immigration – which also requires good coordination with our European partners, as well as with countries of origin and transit – will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy,” declared the monarch.

Unlike many of his European counterparts, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez advocates a positive approach to regular immigration in an increasingly aging Europe.

In mid-November, his government adopted a reform intended to facilitate the regularization of tens of thousands of migrants.

Spain is one of the three main immigration gateways to Europe, along with Italy and Greece.

“He is less monitored”

According to authorities, thousands of people have died in recent years trying to reach Europe by the Atlantic route from Africa, mainly via the Canaries.

At the end of October, on this archipelago a demonstration brought together several thousand people to protest against illegal immigration.

The frequent shipwrecks do not prevent this route from becoming more attractive, because it is less monitored than the Mediterranean route.

Between 2014 and 2024, more than 16,400 migrants died or disappeared in Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a figure including deaths during the crossing to the Canaries, but also those in the Sahara desert.

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