InfoMigrants By Benjamin Bathke Published on : 2021/01/15
In a year that saw over 20,000 migrants arrive on the Canary Islands, Spain s maritime rescue service Salvamento Marítimo saved more than 650 migrant boats. InfoMigrants spoke with the agency about its strategy for responding to distress calls, coordination with Morocco and what we can expect this year.
23,023 migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands were recorded last year, almost six times as many as in the previous two years combined. The migration route from Africa to the Spanish archipelago is one of the deadliest in the world, with more than 600 deaths and disappearances in 2020.
While many of the 745 boats that arrived on the archipelago in 2020 set sail in nearby Morocco and the disputed territory of Western Sahara, some started the crossing more than 1,000 kilometers further south in Mauritania or Senegal. Boats in distress on their way to the Canary Isl