An African migrant woman gave birth on Wednesday while trying to cross between Africa and the Spanish Canary Islands. She was on board an inflatable boat loaded with 43 people, located at midday by the public sea rescue service 15 nautical miles east of Arrecife, the main town on the Spanish island of Lanzarote .
The baby unfortunately died, we learned from the Spanish coast guard. The cause of death is not known at this time. Three people were also transferred to the hospital: the mother of the deceased newborn, another pregnant woman and a 12-year-old boy for hypoglycemia.
A seaway often used
According to the coast guard, these migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, five of whom are minors, had set sail on Sunday. Last year, more than 32,500 migrants arrived clandestinely by land or by sea in Spain, which is half less than in 2018, according to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior.
Arrivals across the Strait of Gibraltar have declined considerably, while the sea route to the Canaries in the Atlantic has been used more. In 2019, 2,698 irregular migrants thus arrived by sea in the Canary Islands, more than double that in 2018.
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