The Caminando Fronteras collective confirmed this past Wednesday the death of 19 migrants who were trying to reach the Canary Islands from the African continent in an inflatable boat.
The NGO's spokesperson, Helena Maleno, stated that seven were women and that there was also a girl. Maleno has attributed these deaths "to the delay in rescues" which "continues to leave victims."
‼️TRAGEDY‼️ The death of nineteen people is confirmed, including seven women and a girl, in the inflatable boat that sank this morning on the Canary route. The delay in rescues continues to leave victims. #RIP
— Helena Maleno Garzón (@HelenaMaleno) April 19, 2023
The migratory route to the Canary Archipelago is the deadliest in the European Union since 2020, according to data collected by Caminando Fronteras. In the past year alone, 1,784 people died trying to reach the Islands. A total of 61 shipwrecks occurred on this route, which starts from various points in Senegal, Morocco and Mauritania.
Likewise, the NGO in its report Monitoring the Right to Life of 2022, stressed that 91.42% of the victims disappear at sea, "without their bodies being recovered."
