More than 70 dead in the sinking of a boat heading to the Canary Islands
The boat has sunk in Mauritania and the death toll could rise.
BarcelonaTragedy on the migratory route. Mauritanian authorities have recovered some seventy bodies after the sinking of a boat carrying more than one hundred migrants to the Canary Islands. The vessel sank this Thursday in the Me haijratt area, about 60 kilometers north of Nouakchott, and was carrying mostly migrants from Zambia and Senegal.
Mauritanian authorities have rescued 17 people alive and continue working to recover the remaining bodies, as survivors have explained that the boat was carrying about one hundred people who had set sail from Gambia six days earlier.
The migratory route from the African coast to the Canary Islands, known as Atlantic Way, is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, with thousands of deaths each year. In 2024, 46,843 migrants arrived in Spain via this route, according to official data. The NGO Caminando Fronteras maintains that 9,757 people also lost their lives on this route last year.
The Balearic route
The danger of this route has precisely reshaped the migratory routes that reach the Spanish state. The latest report from the Ministry of the Interior confirms that irregular arrivals to Spain have decreased by almost 30% compared to last year, with 22,000 migrants this year, approximately 9,100 fewer. However, while the Canary Islands, historically the epicenter of the migration crisis, have experienced a 46.7% drop, the Balearic Islands have registered a 77% increase.
According to the state report, 1,500 people disembarked on the Balearic coast in the first two weeks of August alone. Data from the Spanish Government Delegation indicates that, as of August 23, 256 boats with 4,819 migrants on board had arrived. This unprecedented figure demonstrates that what until now was a secondary route is joining other, more closely monitored crossings, such as the Atlantic route, bound for the Canary Islands. But the route to the Balearic Islands is no safer: in recent days, one death and around twenty missing have been confirmed.