Over 1,200 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands between Jan. 1 and Nov. 14, Spanish Interior Ministry data show, the highest in nine years and a four-fold increase over the same period in 2017. In 2006 – when 30,000 migrants managed to reach the Canary Islands – some 7,000 people died trying to make the crossing.
African migrants turn to deadly ocean route as options narrow
DAKAR (Reuters) -[…] Over 1,200 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands between Jan. 1 and Nov. 14, Spanish Interior Ministry data show, the highest in nine years and a four-fold increase over the same period in 2017. It marks the revival of a worrying trend. In 2006 – when 30,000 migrants managed to reach the Canary Islands – some 7,000 people died trying to make the crossing, rights groups say. In the decade that followed, Spanish patrols slowed the pace. Land routes through Niger and Libya to Italy became more popular. […] While the numbers remain small compared to arrivals on the Spanish mainland, authorities in Senegal and Gambia said there has been a rise in boats attempting the crossing to the Canary Islands this year.
The lack of data on departures makes it impossible to calculate how many die. In October, Guinea Bissau’s coastguard discovered the empty wreckage of a boat that had been carrying dozens of migrants. That same month, a boat with 72 Gambians and Senegalese heading for the Canary Islands was rescued off Guinea Bissau after an engine failure. […]
Policing a coastline hundreds of miles long is a tough task, coast guards say. Spain’s Guardia Civil has worked with the Senegalese Coast Guard since 2006 to intercept migrants. They have two 100-foot boats, one of which goes out every day, but crew members say they rarely find anything. “The sea is very, very big. And they can leave from wherever in Senegal, Gambia or further south,” said Rafael Carballo Abeger, an attache at the Spanish embassy in Dakar. […]