More than 11,200 migrants have died or gone missing since 2018 while trying to reach Spain, an average of six per day, according to a report released Monday by the NGO Caminando Fronteras.
The Spanish organization, which makes its assessments based on the testimonies of migrants or their families, counted 11,286 deaths or disappearances on the sea and land migration routes between Africa and Spain between 2018 and November 30, 2022.
The bodies of most of these migrants have not been found, according to the organization, which has identified 1,272 women and 377 children among them.
Most of them (7692) died on the extremely dangerous route between the northwest coast of Africa and the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands.
The second deadliest route is between Algeria and the southeast coast of Spain, where 1,526 deaths or disappearances have been recorded in five years.
Apart from the sea routes, the report counts the deaths of 47 migrants while trying to enter the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Morocco, which represent the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.
The tragedy, which has drawn international condemnation, represents the heaviest human toll ever recorded in attempts to enter the two migrant enclaves.
According to Caminando Fronteras, the use of dilapidated dinghies on the way to the Canary Islands was one of the factors explaining the increase in the number of deaths in 2021 (4639).
The number of deaths decreased to 2154 over the period of January 1 to November 30, 2022, according to the same source.
Spain remains one of the main entry points for migrants into Europe
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