MADRID: At least 6,618 migrants died or went missing trying to reach Spain by sea in 2023, when record numbers headed to the Canary Islands, migrant rights groups said on Tuesday.
The “shameful” figure is almost triple the 2,390 recorded the previous year and is the highest since the charity Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) started keeping tabs in 2007, said co-ordinator Helena. Mareno said at a press conference.
The group, which compiles figures from families of dead or missing migrants and official rescue statistics, said the number included 384 children.
Mareno argued that last year’s increase in migrant deaths and disappearances was due to a lack of resources for rescuers. Nearly half were migrants who left for Spain from Senegal.
The majority of deaths (6,007 people) occurred along the Atlantic migration route.
According to Interior Ministry statistics, the number of migrants entering Spain illegally in 2023 will almost double from the previous year to 56,852.
This is the highest number since 2018, when 64,298 immigrants entered the country.
The majority (about 70%) arrived in the Canary Islands, which at their closest point are just 100 kilometers off the northwest coast of Africa.
“A life saved”
A direct flight from Senegal to the Canary Islands typically takes a week, with approximately 1,600 km of difficult upwind sailing.
In October, Spain’s central government pledged 50 million euros ($54 million) in aid to help the archipelago cope with the surge in arrivals.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlasca said on Thursday that this cooperation with African countries prevented more than 27,000 would-be migrants from leaving for Spain last year.
“We saved lives,” he claimed.
Published at Dawn on January 10, 2024