One dead, scores rescued from migrant boat off Canary Isles

MADRID (AFP): Spain’s coastguard on Tuesday said it had rescued a migrant boat off the Canary Islands, pulling 84 people to safety but also finding the body of a man who had died en route.

The boat was spotted in the early hours of Tuesday morning just off Gran Canaria island, a spokeswoman for Salvamento Maritimo told AFP.

Those rescued, which included just one woman, were taken to Arguineguin port on Gran Canaria, the coastguard said.

Between January and July 15, 14,021 migrants entered Spain, with more than half — or 7,590 — arriving via the Canary Islands, interior ministry figures show.

The figures were lower than in the same period in 2022, with the numbers reaching Spain this year dropping by 6.5 percent, and the figure for the Canary Islands falling by 18.5 percent.

The archipelago has long been a draw for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, with many boats setting off from Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and even Senegal.

But the Atlantic route is particularly dangerous due to the strong currents, with migrants travelling in overloaded, often unseaworthy wooden boats without enough drinking water.

Atlantic crossings began surging in late 2019 after increased patrols along Europe’s southern coast dramatically reduced Mediterranean crossings.

According to figures released by Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which helps migrant boats in distress, 778 people died while trying to reach the Canary Islands in the first half of 2023.

Figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) give a lower figure of 126 dead or missing over the same period.