Deadliest year on record meant an average of 30 lives lost per day
At least 10,457 people perished while trying to reach Spain's coasts irregularly in 2024, migration NGO Caminando Fronteras said Thursday.
This makes 2024 the deadliest year in Spain's modern migration history, according to the group.
It also reaffirms Spain as having one of the world's deadliest migration routes. Each day, an average of 30 migrants died at sea, the report said, up from 18 people per day in 2023.
The vast majority of the migrants — 9,757 — died on the Atlantic route from northwest Africa to the Canary Islands.
The group also reported that 131 boats disappeared without a trace.
While the migration route is long and dangerous, the group found that the inaction of search and rescue services was decisive in 69% of the tragedies.
To illustrate some of the issues, the report cites the example of a boat carrying around 150 people from Senegal. Caminando Fronteras received an alert that the boat was desperate for help and notified search and rescue services.
That same day, Spanish authorities located the vessel near the edge of the areas of responsibility for Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. Initially, Spanish authorities told the NGO that Morocco would take action.
However, Moroccan authorities later said they had no information. Eventually, Mauritanian authorities said they would take action, but it was not until 10 days later that the boat, carried by the current, reached Mauritania. Twenty-six people died during the journey.
The NGO also noted an increase in women traveling on these flimsy boats, particularly from Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania. Many women described themselves as displaced, fleeing armed conflict or the impacts of climate change.
Around 2,000 women and children died at sea this year, according to the report.
Many migrants, including women, also experience racism, forced labor, violence or other dire threats before even departing for Spain.
Overall, Caminando Fronteras said this year's spike in deaths is mainly due to the failure to launch search and rescue missions, the effects of externalized border policies, and the criminalization of migrants.
According to Spain's Interior Ministry, 57,738 migrants successfully reached Spain's shores as of Dec. 15 — a 12% increase from 2023. However, the Canary Islands route, which accounted for 75% of arrivals, saw an even sharper increase.
