Over 10,000 migrants died trying to reach Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024

As many as 50 migrants who recently attempted to reach Spain via boat from West Africa drowned, according to the migrant rights organization Walking Borders, whose new report also found that over 10,457 migrants lost their lives last year while attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach Canary Islands.
Walking Borders reported on Thursday (16 January) that in a recent incident, a boat with migrants trying to make this treacherous journey sank, resulting in the deaths of 50 people, including 44 Pakistanis. Moroccan authorities managed to rescue 36 individuals from the boat involved in the tragedy, which had departed from Mauritania on 2 January with 86 migrants on board, including 66 Pakistanis, according to the Madrid and Navarra-based group. Its new report also states that a record 10,457 migrants died last year while attempting to reach Canary Islands, including many from West African countries like Mauritania and Senegal.
Walking Borders claims to have alerted authorities from all countries involved about the missing boat days before the actual rescue operation was finally launched. Alarm Phone, an organization that helps migrants in distress at sea, also contacted Spain’s maritime rescue service for assistance that, however, responded by saying it did not have any information about the boat. In response to this tragedy, incumbent president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo Batlle, urged Spain and the European Union to take action in order to prevent further loss of life, stressing that “the Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa.” Experts say that this high number of recorded deaths confirms once again that the Africa to Canary Islands migration route remains the world’s deadliest.