So far this year, at least 951 people have died trying to enter Spain by boat.
Caminando Fronteras holds Spain and Morocco responsible for delayed rescue efforts due to poor communication and cooperation.
In the first half of 2023, at least 951 individuals, including 49 children, perished while attempting to reach Spain via water, as per a monitoring group.
People from Algeria, Cameroon, Comoros, Guinea, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Sri Lanka, and The Gambia were among those reported missing at sea on Thursday by Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders).
During the first six months of this year, an average of five persons per day drowned while attempting to cross four separate routes: the Canary Islands, the Alboran Sea, Algeria, and the Strait of Gibraltar.
The group, which gathered its information from government agencies, local refugee groups, and rescue organizations, found that 19 vessels vanished from January to June with all their passengers still on board.
A total of 778 persons may have been killed in 28 separate instances along the Canary Islands-Spain access route.
Meanwhile, on the Alboran highway, the number of victims has risen to 21 following two recent catastrophes. There have been at least eight tragedies on the Algerian route, resulting in at least 102 deaths. The study concluded, “Finally, on the Strait of Gibraltar, eleven tragedies claimed the lives of fifty people.”
The highest monthly death tolls were recorded in February (237) and June (332) this year. You can read more news about Spain from www.noticiascanarias.net
According to the group’s analysis of official Spanish data, while fewer boats arrived in the first six months, 13 more individuals perished compared to the same period in 2017.
The first half of the year saw 12,192 persons enter Spain via boat, a decrease of 4% compared to the same period in 2017.
Caminando Fronteras claimed that the lack of cooperation and timely SAR activities between Spain and Morocco was to fault. Inadequate resources and poor rescue procedures were also cited as contributing factors to the tragedies.
The organization claimed the two governments were more concerned with “politics” than helping the shipwrecked.
The border has traditionally been governed by a politics of death. However, “we have also noticed an increase in impunity in the face of rising death rates,” said Helena Maleno Garzon, founder and director of Caminando Fronteras. This prevents victims and their families from receiving reparation and justice.
The group cited an occurrence that happened on June 21 roughly 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean as an illustration.
Twenty-four people were saved when a boat capsized off the coast of Morocco, but at least 36 people are still missing. Ten hours after the initial warnings were sent out, the organization said a rescue ship from Morocco finally arrived.
According to Caminando Fronteras, human rights are violated even against the survivors. Some people are “incarcerated, displaced, physically attacked, and detained,” it said.
According to the organization, those whose bodies are recovered are typically buried in mass graves where there are no processes in place to ensure their identities are properly recorded.
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