4,404 migrants died or disappeared trying to reach Spain in 2021, says NGO, more than double the previous year

Latest figure is highest yearly number since NGO Caminando Fronteras began its records in 2015; 205 children among dead or missing

94 per cent of the victims were never found, group says, and most were attempting to get to the Canary Islands in Atlantic

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A migrant is comforted by a member of the Spanish Red Cross at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta near the border of Morocco and Spain, in May 2021. Photo: AP

Published: 11:39pm, 3 Jan 2022Updated: 12:45am, 4 Jan 2022

Over 4,000 migrants died or disappeared trying to reach Spain by sea in 2021, twice as many as in the previous year, a migrant rights group said on Monday.

Migrant arrivals in Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic have increased since late 2019 after increased patrols along Europe’s southern coast dramatically reduced crossings to the continent via the Mediterranean.

This route is fraught with dangers due to strong currents and the greater distances involved.

A total of 4,404 migrants perished or vanished in attempts to reach Spain last year, up from 2,170 in 2020, according to Spanish non-governmental organisation Caminando Fronteras, which tracks data from boats in distress.

That is the highest yearly number since the group started keeping records in 2015.

A migrant is carried on a stretcher after arriving with around 105 other rescued sub-Saharan migrants in the Canary Islands, Spain, on December 19. Photo: EPA-EFE

The bodies of the vast majority of migrants, 94 per cent, were never found so they are counted as missing.