The last patera that arrived to the coasts of Lanzarote, and in fact, the last one that arrived to the Canary Archipelago, did so on October 8 with 25 people on board. It arrived late in the afternoon and was intercepted in the area of El Río, between Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
This was the tenth boat that arrived to the Island of the volcanoes, with a total of 154 immigrants on board, registering a significant decrease compared to 2008, year in which a total of eighteen pateras arrived.
73 percent less in all of the Canary Islands
According to data from the Secretary of State for Immigration, it points to "the crisis, the greater effectiveness in repatriations and the surveillance of the African coast, especially Senegalese", as the main reason why the arrival of only 2,242 people has been registered to the Canary coasts. A decrease that represents 73 percent less compared to 2008, in which 8,300 did so.
A figure so low that we have to go back ten years, until 1999 and 2000, to find similar numbers with the arrival of 2,165 and 2,240 immigrants, respectively.
