Spain’s Interior Ministry says the number of migrants making the dangerous sea crossing from Africa to the Canary Islands jumped by 160% between January and July compared to the same period last year.
Four boats carrying more than 300 migrants have docked at the Spanish island of Gran Canaria in less than 24 hours.
One of the vessels, a wooden boat carrying 64 people, arrived at the island unassisted. 11 of the people on board were transported to hospital, some by helicopter as four were said to be in a critical condition.
Another of the boats was escorted to port by the Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (Salvamento Marítimo) after being spotted around 15 kilometres southeast of Gran Canaria.
That boat was carrying 145 people, all of sub-Saharan African origin, and everyone on board was said to be in good physical condition.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said that the number of migrants arriving by sea to the Canary Islands jumped by 160% between January and July compared to the same period last year.
The ministry said almost 20,000 people in total had made the perilous sea crossing in that period.
Overall arrivals by sea to Spain, including to the mainland, rose by 88% to around 25,300 people.
The route from Africa to the Canary Islands, which are located off Morocco’s southern coast, is the fastest-growing migration route to Europe.
The European border control agency Frontex says irregular crossings are up 303% from January to May compared to a year ago.
And in many cases, many of the arrivals to the Canary Islands are unaccompanied minors. That’s put a strain on relevant services across the archipelago where there are reportedly almost 6,000 immigrant children.
