Over the last two days, Spanish marine rescue services reported that they rescued 72 migrants from two separate boats. At least 28 are thought to still be missing from another boat found about 120 kilometers south of Gran Canaria.
UNHCR reports that over 3,000 people either died or went missing while trying to reach Europe via sea in 2021. The UN agency has asked for urgent measures to ward off an increase in people losing their lives on these journeys.
At the end of last week, Spain and Morocco initiated a new phase of bilateral relations between the two countries. More economic cooperation, new flight routes and a warmer political climate are planned. In return, Spain reportedly wants to fly back to Morocco migrants who do not qualify for asylum.
On Monday morning, Spanish rescue workers brought to shore 52 migrants on the island of Lanzarote. That’s in addition to the 237 migrants reported to have arrived on small boats on various Canary Islands over the weekend.
More than 4,000 African migrants died in 2021 while trying to reach the Canary Islands by boat, according to some sources. There have never been so many deaths as now, aid workers are saying.
Thousands of migrants from West Africa are taking the risky journey to Europe via the Spanish Canary Islands. As a result, aid organizations have said that 2021 saw more fatalities in the Atlantic than ever before.
The centers for unaccompanied minors in the Canary Islands have reached saturation point. Regional officials say that without state aid, new arrivals will be forced to sleep on the streets.
The Moroccan Navy picked up 63 migrants from their rubber dinghy off the coast of Morocco on February 1. Meanwhile, Spanish rescuers reported more rescues nearer the Canary Islands.
Following the deaths of nine migrants headed towards the Canary Islands in March 2021, two people have each been sentenced to nine years in prison. Two young children were among those who died.
When Spanish rescuers arrived to help a boat off the coast of the Canary Island Fuerteventura, they found a mother who had given birth to her baby in the rubber dinghy, alongside around 60 other migrants.
The UN migration agency has said that 4,470 migrants died along migration routes worldwide in 2021, exceeding the 4,236 deaths registered in 2020.
A lack of prospects exacerbated by the pandemic has been leading tens of thousands of Africans to make the dangerous crossing to Spain's Canary Islands. It remains unclear how many have died in the attempt.