Still, Frank Lazko, director of the IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Center, warned last week that the actual number of people killed at sea was probably much higher. “Invisible shipwrecks, with no survivors, are believed to be frequent occurrences on this route, but are nearly impossible to verify,” he said in the report.
Over the past two years, the Canary Islands have become a gateway to Europe for thousands of migrants, including an increasing number of ships from ports such as Dakhla in Western Sahara, a heavily militarized region where Morocco has long been a territorial region. . has been included in. confrontation.
Migration experts believe that part of the increase in travel to the Canary Islands has come in the form of human smugglers revitalizing that route after other crossings, particularly between Italy and Libya, became inaccessible.
Even as many die at sea, the influx of survivors has strained migration centers in the Canary Islands, one of Spain’s main tourist destinations. Last year, the Spanish government kept thousands of migrants who arrived on the island of Gran Canaria. in hotels Which was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.