Categories: World News

Over 4,000 Migrants Died Trying To Reach Spain In 2021, Says NGO

File photo of migrants on a boat.

 

Over 4,000 migrants died or disappeared trying to reach Spain by sea in 2021, twice as many as in the previous year, a migrant rights group said Monday.

Migrant arrivals in Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic have increased since late 2019 after increased patrols along Europe’s southern coast dramatically reduced crossings to the continent via the Mediterranean.

This route is fraught with dangers due to strong currents and the greater distances involved.

READ ALSO: India Begins Vaccinating Teens As Omicron Fears Rise

A total of 4,404 migrants perished or vanished in attempts to reach Spain last year, up from 2,170 in 2020, according to Spanish non-governmental organisation Caminando Fronteras, which tracks data from boats in distress.

That is the highest yearly number since the group started keeping records in 2015.

The bodies of the vast majority of migrants, 94 percent, were never found so they are counted as missing.

Over 90 percent of the deaths or disappearances last year, 4,016, took place during attempts to reach Spain’s Canary Islands.

The shortest route to the archipelago is more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Moroccan coast.

“There are painful figures”,¨Maria Gonzalez Rollan, one of the authors of the annual report, told a news conference.

Migration routes to Spain were becoming more “feminised”, with 628 women and 205 children among those who died or went missing last year while trying to reach the country, she added.

The figures from the NGO are much higher than those from the UN International Organization for Migration which has tallied 1,279 deaths or disappearances of migrants on their way to Spain from northern Africa last year.

At least 37,385 migrants arrived in Spain by sea last year, according to Spanish interior ministry figures, slightly less than the 38,014 that arrived in 2020.

AFP

Ronke Sanya Idowu

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Ronke Sanya Idowu

Recent Posts

Fallen Crypto Tycoon Bankman-Fried Gets 25-Year Sentence

Although lower than the 40-50 years sought by the government, the Justice Department praised the…

22 mins ago

Police Hand Over Delta King, Ikolo To Military

The development has been confirmed by the Public Relations Officer, Delta State Police Command. Bright…

51 mins ago

Israeli Strike Kills 36 Syrian Soldiers Near Aleppo – War Monitor

The strikes have increased since Israel's war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah…

53 mins ago

Good Friday: Obaseki Tasks Christians On Sacrifice, Tolerance

He noted, “I celebrate with our Christian brothers and sisters as we mark Good Friday,…

1 hour ago

Governor Otu Felicitates Tinubu At 72

Wishing the president god's protection, good health and long life, the governor said: "I want…

1 hour ago

Evan Gershkovich: Determined US Reporter Jailed In Russia

His arrest in March 2023 on charges of spying -- the first such charge against…

2 hours ago