Simon Hunter
AROUND a thousand would-be migrants have arrived on Spanish shores since Friday alone, most of them reaching the coasts of the Canary Islands.
That’s according to a tally from news agency Europa Press, which reported that 138 migrants arrived in the Canaries on two craft on Tuesday morning. Fifty of these immigrants reached Tenerife, while another made it to El Hierro. They were treated by the medical services on arrival.
On Monday, the coastguard rescued 57 people who were in a vessel some 27 kilometres off the coast of Lanzarote. Of these, there were 12 women and one child.
On Sunday, 15 migrants were located off the coast of Benidorm, while 154 migrants have reached the Balearic Islands since Saturday.
The Interior Ministry reports that a total of 18,069 irregular migrants have arrived on Spanish shores in the year so far to August 15. This is an increase of 10% compared to the figures for the same period last year.
The increase is particularly notable for the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands, coming in at 37% higher compared to the same period for 2022.
Tragedy in the Atlantic
Previously in August, a total of 92 migrants died on a vessel that had been drifting in the Atlantic for more than a month. The boat had left Senegal in July and was trying to reach the Canary Islands. Only 38 occupants survived.
Read more:
- Arrival of 400 migrants on Spain’s southern coasts raises alarms for authorities
- Spain’s Maritime Rescue service pulls 187 migrants from waters off the Canary Islands’ coasts
- Chief inspector in Spain’s Basque Country offers extra days off for officers who arrest immigrants
