Laurence Dollimore
ALMOST 1,000 migrants were rescued while trying to reach the Canary Islands over the weekend.
Spain’s maritime rescue service reported a total of 914 rescues across the archipalego between Friday and Sunday.
It means that more than 2,000 migrants have arrived on the islands since Christmas Day, reports Cadena Ser.
Most of the arrivals were of sub-Saharan origin and the majority were men, with some women and children recorded.
It comes after a report this month said 10,400 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year.
On average, 30 migrants died every day in 2024 attempting to reach the country by boat, according to migrant organisation Caminando Fronteras.
The overall death toll rose by 58% compared to last year, the report added.
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Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands which has been increasingly used as a stepping stone to get asylum in mainland Spain and the rest of Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until December 15 took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
The organisation compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued.
It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead with April and May the deadliest months, according to the report.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a ‘sharp increase’ in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canaries.
In February, Spain pledged €210 million in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and stop boat journeys.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57 700 migrants reached Spain by boat up to December 15 this year – a roughly 12% increase on the same period in 2023.
