Spain’s Canary Islands see largest number of migrant arrivals since 2006 

More than 1,000 African migrants landed in Spain’s Canary Islands over a 48-hour period, according to a statement issued by the Red Cross on 10 October. This is the largest number of migrant arrivals since 2006. 

The migrants, who are mostly from Senegal and The Gambia, arrived in 485 fishing boats and travelled across the Atlantic to reach the Canaries. 

In recent years, Morocco has clamped down on irregular migration pushing many African migrants to take the Atlantic migration route as an alternative to the Mediterranean. Nearly 74,000 irregular migration attempts were foiled by the Moroccan government in 2019.

More than 250 people have died in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Spain between January and mid-September this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

TMP_ 14/10/2020

Image Credit: Shutterstock/T.W. van Urk

Image Caption: Cityscape from the sea at Puerto Tazacorte, La Palma, Canary Islands