Lethal migratory routes: 1,317 people have died trying to reach Spain in just five months

A total of 1,317 people have died between January and May 2026 attempting to reach Spain by sea and land, according to the latest report from the NGO Caminando Fronteras. Among the victims are 142 women and 129 children, and up to 26 different nationalities, on migratory routes that the entity again describes as “extremely lethal” and marked by the lack of effective rescue at various points along the journey.

The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands continues to be the deadliest, with 635 victims, while the Algerian route to the Balearic Islands ranks second with 507 deaths, a significant increase compared to previous years. The NGO warns that, in parallel with the decrease in irregular arrivals, the lethality of the journeys is increasing: according to its calculation, this 2026 one person dies for every six who manage to arrive.

The report also points out that at least 27 boats have disappeared completely with all people on board during these five months. In the case of the Canary route, the entity stresses that the reduction in flows does not imply a humanitarian improvement, but rather an increase in risk due to departure conditions and the longer distances that vessels have to travel.

Caminando Fronteras attributes part of the situation to the lack of coordination in search and rescue operations and to the difficulties of cooperation between states in some maritime areas. In this regard, they call for strengthening detection and rescue mechanisms to reduce a toll that, they insist, "should not be acceptable to any democracy".