More than 10,000 migrants died this year trying to reach Spain by sea: report – Nacional

More than 10,000 migrants died this year when trying to reach Spain by sea, according to a report published this Thursday by a Spanish migration rights group.

On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year trying to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Global deaths rose by 58 percent compared to last year, the report added.

Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the African coast that has increasingly been used as a springboard to mainland Europe.

Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up to December 15 took place along this crossing, the so-called Atlantic route, considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

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The organization compiles its figures from migrant families and official statistics of those rescued. It includes 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, according to the report.

Caminando Fronteras also noted a “strong increase” in 2024 in vessels leaving Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point for the route to the Canary Islands.

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In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (about US$218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on people smugglers and prevent boats from leaving.

Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57,700 migrants arrived in Spain by boat as of December 15 this year, an increase of about 12% over the same period last year. The vast majority of them arrived via the Atlantic route.