Migrant Deaths Surge as 2,200 Perish on Dangerous Routes to Spain

The arrival of migrants in Spain has seen a dizzying increase this year. The increase in patrols along the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain is pushing migrants to look for alternative routes to Europe, notes prensa.com. By sea, the shortest route to the islands is more than 100 kilometers from the Moroccan coast, the media points out, adding that it is dangerous due to the strong currents of the Atlantic Ocean.

In total, 2,170 migrants, compared to 893 in 2019, perished this year trying to cross to Spain by boat. 85% of the deaths in 2020 (1,851) occurred in 45 shipwrecks bound for the Canary Islands, according to the report by the NGO Caminando Fronteras.

Helena Maleno, an activist with the NGO, attributed the increase in the number of deaths this year to the longer distance to travel to the Canary Islands. She also deplored a "lack of coordination" between the countries with rescue services in the region (Spain, Mauritania, Senegal and Morocco), which has led to "delays" in launching rescue operations.

Figures from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior show that between January 1 and November 30, 19,566 people arrived in the archipelago via the Atlantic, compared to only 1,993 in 2019.