More than 2,000 migrants died trying to cross to the Canary Islands in 2020
2 170 migrants died on the migration route between Africa and the Canary Islands.
REUTERS / Mauro Buccarello
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According to the Spanish NGO which monitors migratory flows Caminando Fronteras, 2 170 migrants perished in 2020 in the Atlantic trying to reach Spain.
Most have taken the migratory route that reaches the Canary Islands.
A figure that has risen sharply compared to previous years.
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Figures that are cold in the back.
A total of 2,170 migrants have died attempting the crossing to Spain this year.
This is twice as much as the previous year
.
According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, the vast majority of deaths occurred during 45 shipwrecks of boats en route
to the Canaries
.
The arrivals of migrants in this Spanish archipelago - located about 150km from the coast of Western Sahara - have
increased sharply this year
.
Between January and November, 19,566 migrants reached the Canaries, 10 times more than the previous year, according to figures from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
This migratory route via the Canaries has developed considerably, in particular because of controls in the Mediterranean, the other route allowing to reach Spain, which have been reinforced.
But according to organizations, this is an extremely dangerous road.
The migrants embark in pirogues, often from Senegal, and try to reach the Canary Islands, 1,500 kilometers away, or around 7 days of crossing.
Most of them come from southern Sahel countries such as Niger or Senegal.
At the beginning of the month, Senegalese justice also
sentenced three fathers to prison for having their children embarked
on canoes bound for Europe.
One of the young people, Doudou Faye, died at sea.
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