Over 6,000 migrants vanished trying to reach Spain in 2023: NGO

Nearly half involved migrants who had departed for Spain from Senegal, where political unrest along with lack of jobs caused thousands to flee

By AFP

January 10, 2024

A boat carrying migrants is stranded in the Strait of Gibraltar before being rescued by the Spanish Guardia Civil, last September. — AFP/ File

MADRID: At least 6,618 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2023, when record numbers headed for the Canary Islands, a migrants rights group said on Tuesday.

This “shameful” figure is almost three times the number recorded in the previous year -- 2,390 -- and the highest since charity Caminando Fronteras, or Walking Borders, began keeping a tally in 2007, its coordinator, Helena Maleno, told a news conference. The total includes 384 children, according to the organisation, which compiles its figures from families of migrants who died or went missing and from official rescue statistics.

Nearly half involved migrants who had departed for Spain from Senegal, where political unrest along with a lack of jobs, rising food prices and depleting fish stocks have caused thousands to flee the country.