Worst year for migrant deaths on Spanish maritime routes, NGO warns

RFI

26 December 2024 at 7:20 am·1-min read

A Spanish Coast Guard vessel tows a fibreglass boat with migrants onboard to the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on 25 December, 2024.

At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, an NGO said Thursday – marking a 58 percent increase from last year and the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.

The 58-percent increase includes 1,538 children and 421 women, migrants rights group Caminando Fronteras or Walking Borders said in a report which covers the period from January 1 to December 5, 2024.

It amounts to an average of 30 deaths per day, up from around 18 in 2023.

The group compiles its data from hotlines set up for migrants on vessels in trouble to call for help, families of migrants who went missing and from official rescue statistics.

It blamed the use of flimsy boats and increasingly dangerous routes as well as the insufficient capacity of maritime rescue services for the surge in deaths.

'Unacceptable tragedy'

"These figures are evidence of a profound failure of rescue and protection systems. More than 10,400 people dead or missing in a single year is an unacceptable tragedy," the group's founder, Helena Maleno, said in a statement.

The victims were from 28 nations, mostly in Africa, but also from Iraq and Pakistan.

France and Comoros clash over migrants lost in Mayotte cyclone disaster

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'Unacceptable tragedy'

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