2021 marked the deadliest year for migrants crossing into Spain

During the course of 2021, a total of 4,404 migrants died trying to reach Spain, making it the “most tragic year” for migrants, said Caminando Fronteras, an NGO dedicated to enriching the lives of migrants worldwide, in a statement on Monday.

In its annual report, the Spanish NGO said the number of migrants dying on migratory routes leading to Spain had increased by 102.95% since 2020.

The vast majority of migrants died crossing the Canaries, which is considered the deadliest route to reach Spain. There are 4,016 migrants, from 21 different nationalities, who have died or have gone missing in the course of the migration, and 94.80% of those victims have disappeared without having their bodies found, according to the report.

“Last year, a total of 83 boats were wrecked, with no survivors to speak of. This is a total of 628 women and 205 children who lost their lives in these attempts,” added the NGO.

“A tragedy of international dimensions,” exacerbated by Spanish migration policy and Spanish-Moroccan political tension, said Caminando Fronteras in a series of tweets.

“Migration control policies have exponentially increased mortality at our borders,” the NGO stated, adding further that, “the Spanish-Moroccan crisis has further increased the deficiencies of the rescue protocols,” causing the lives of entire families to be put in danger.

Amid the Morocco-Spain political crisis sparked by the hospitalization of Polisario’s leader, Brahim Ghali, last year, over 8,000 people stormed the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in May, with overcrowded boats filled with men, women, and children, while many others crawled over fences or swam desperately.

Most migrants who survived the deadly migration route were deported or held in detention, and the situation of minor migrants remains critical at Minors centers, where children are treated inhumanely, according to reports from children rights NGOs.