Report: More than 10,000 migrants died this year while trying to reach Spain by sea

A report issued by a Spanish immigration rights group said on Thursday that more than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year.

Caminando Frontras (Walking Borders) said this meant on average 30 migrants had died every day this year while trying to reach the country by boat. The report added that total deaths increased by 58 percent compared to last year.

Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to mainland Europe.

Caminando Frontras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded as of December 15 occurred along this crossing, the so-called Atlantic Route – considered one of the most dangerous roads in the world.

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The organization collects its numbers from migrant families and official statistics of those rescued. Among the dead were 1,538 children and 421 women. The report said that the months of April and May were the deadliest.

Caminando Frontras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats departing from Mauritania, which it said had become the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.

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In February, Spain pledged €210 million (about US$218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on people smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.

The Spanish Interior Ministry says more than 57,700 migrants arrived in Spain by boat as of December 15 this year, an increase of almost 12% over the same period last year. The vast majority of them came via the Atlantic route.