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2023 Canary Islands migrant boat disaster

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On June 21, 2023, a rubber dinghy carrying migrants sunk off the coast of the Canary Islands in Spain. Dozens are feared missing.

Background

In recent years, widespread conflict and instability, border closures relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and increased controls in North African countries have birthed an industry of smuggling migrants into Europe. Spain has seen an influx of migrants as part of this broader surge into Europe. Though some opt to head to the country via the Mediterranean, the Canaries have become the primary destination for migrants fleeing to Spain, with nearly 6,000 people disembarking in the Canaries from the start of 2023 to June 15. Statistics from the United Nations demonstrate that a little under 30,000 people arrived in Spain via sea in 2022 and close to 42,000 thousand in 2021.[1] The early summer is peak season for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.[2]

With the surge in traffic, the route towards the canaries have seen an increase in dangerous and fatal incidents. The Atlantic route to the Canaries has become infamously dangerous, with hundreds dying each year.[3] According to the International organization for Migration (IOM), of the 2,556 people who died attempting to reach Europe in 2022, 1,126 were traversing across the Atlantic route to Spain from West Africa.[4] Earlier in week that the dingy sunk,[2] a pregnant woman had died aboard a dingy while attempting to reach Spain. She was aboard a ship near the Canarian island of Lanzarote.[5] Additionally, on June 19, a trawler detected a migrant boat near Mogán, Gran Canaria, carrying 53 passengers that were in poor health.[2]

Incident

Approximately 60 people were aboard the vessel.[1] On the evening of June 20, the Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (SASEMAR) received a call from the dingy. A plane departing from the Canaries detected the vessel 70 kilometres (43 mi) of the African coast and 160 kilometres (99 mi) south of the archipelago. A SASEMAR spokesperson stated that the crew reported no immediate signs of distress or issues on the boat.[6]

Early on June 21, Alarm Phone, a European NGO, reported that the vessel was taking on water, adding that three passengers were deceased. The organization proceeded to call for an immediate rescue of the migrants.[2] A SASEMAR spokesperson stated that the “The boat got into difficulty and sank.”[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Jones, Sam (2023-06-21). "At least 35 people feared dead after dinghy sinks en route to Canary Islands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  2. ^ a b c d "More than 30 feared dead as dinghy bound for Spain's Canary Islands sinks - migrant groups". Reuters. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  3. ^ Jones, Sam (2021-08-08). "'I'd never seen a boat come in with so many bodies': the mortal cost of the Atlantic migrant route". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  4. ^ "Dozens of people drown after dinghy sinks near Canary Islands". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  5. ^ "Body of pregnant woman found on migrant dinghy en route to Spain's Canary islands". Reuters. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  6. ^ "Two found dead off Moroccan coast after rubber dinghy carrying dozens of migrants sinks". AP NEWS. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
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