MADRID (AP) — More than 10,000 migrants have died this year trying to reach Spain by sea, according to a report released Thursday by a Spanish migration rights group.
On average, this means that 30 migrants died every day this year trying to reach the country by boat, says Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders). Total deaths increased by 58% compared to last year, the report said.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago near the African coast that is increasingly used as a springboard to continental Europe.
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Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up to December 15 occurred along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route – considered one of the most dangerous in the world.
The organization collects figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. The dead included 1,538 children and 421 women. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted in 2024 a “strong increase” in the number of boats leaving from Mauritania, which he said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (about $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help the country tackle people smugglers and prevent boats from leaving.
Spain’s Interior Ministry says more than 57,700 migrants reached Spain by boat up to December 15 this year, an increase of around 12% compared to the same period last year. The vast majority of them came via the Atlantic route.
___ Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
