MADRID, (TDI): A record-breaking 10,457 migrants lost their lives or went missing while attempting to reach Spain by sea in 2024, an NGO reported on Thursday.
This figure marks a 58% increase compared to 2023 and is the highest since the organization began tracking such data in 2007.
The tragic toll includes 1,538 children and 421 women, according to Caminando Fronteras, or Walking Borders, which compiled the data from January 1 to December 5, 2024. This equates to an average of 30 migrant deaths daily, compared to 18 per day last year.
The organization’s data sources include emergency hotlines for migrants, accounts from families of the missing, and official rescue statistics. They attribute the rising fatalities to the use of unsafe boats, increasingly perilous migration routes, and insufficient rescue resources.
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“These figures expose a profound failure in rescue and protection systems,” said Caminando Fronteras founder Helena Maleno. “More than 10,400 people dead or missing in one year is an unacceptable tragedy.”
The victims came from 28 different nations.
The Atlantic Route: Deadliest Passage
The majority of deaths — 9,757 — occurred along the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands. This route, notorious for its dangers, has seen a record influx of migrants for the second consecutive year.
Spain’s maritime rescue service reported that seven migrant boats arrived in the Canary Islands on Christmas Day alone.
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At their closest point, the Canary Islands are just 100 kilometers (62 miles) off North Africa’s coast, but the journey is fraught with peril. Smugglers often employ overcrowded, poorly equipped boats, which are ill-suited to handle strong Atlantic currents. To evade detection, some traffickers chart longer, riskier routes, venturing deep into the Atlantic before heading to the Canaries.
This year, the westernmost Canary Island, El Hierro, experienced an unprecedented surge in migrant arrivals due to these hazardous detours.
Rising Tensions and Policy Challenges
In a Christmas Eve address, Spain’s King Felipe VI highlighted the social and political challenges posed by migration. “Without proper management, migration risks creating tensions that undermine social cohesion,” he warned.
The King emphasized the importance of coordination with European partners and African nations to address migration effectively, noting that these efforts would reflect Spain’s democratic values and principles.
In August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez toured West African nations, including Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia, to strengthen efforts to curb illegal migration from these key departure points.
Spain: A Key Gateway to Europe
Alongside Italy and Greece, Spain remains one of Europe’s primary entry points for irregular migration. Between January 1 and December 15, 2024, 60,216 migrants arrived in Spain irregularly, a 14.5% rise from the same period in 2023, according to Spain’s interior ministry.
Over 70% of these arrivals were recorded in the Canary Islands.
Since 2014, more than 16,400 migrants have died attempting to reach Europe from Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration, a UN agency. This figure includes those who perished en route to the Canary Islands.
