Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat disaster off Spanish Canary Islands

In late August, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Mauritania and Gambia to sign cooperation agreements aimed at cracking down on people smugglers while expanding legal immigration measures.

As of August 15, 22,304 migrants had arrived in the Canary Islands since the beginning of the year, compared to 9,864 in the same period last year.

Nearly 40,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in 2023, a record set to be broken this year as easier navigation conditions in place from September typically lead to a sharp increase in crossing attempts.

The Atlantic route is particularly deadly because many of the crowded and poorly equipped boats are unable to cope with the strong ocean currents. Some boats depart from African beaches as far as 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the Canary Islands.

The International Organization for Migration, a U.N. agency, estimates that 4,857 people have died along the route since 2014.

Many aid organizations say this is a huge underestimate. Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish NGO that helps migrants, says 18,680 people have died trying to reach Europe.