The average price of a seat in a vessel illegally carrying migrants from North Africa to Spain has doubled, according to a report published by El Pais, which quoted sources from EU border agency Frontex. 7,500 people have reached Spain by sea in 2017.
According to the report by El Pais, migrant traffickers reportedly took ''advantage of the increase in demand'' to ask on average 1,000 euros per passenger against the 500 of last year. In the first six months of this year, a reported 7,500 people reached Spain by sea against 3,600 from the same period in 2016.
Prices can vary according to the duration of the crossing, the risk factors and the means of transportation. Costs range from 100 euros for a rubber dinghy to 3,000 for a water motorboat which reaches Spain's coast in only 30 minutes. The smugglers leave the passengers and turn back.
Civil Guard alerted by the lifeguards on the arrival of migrants
On Tuesday, a total of 22 people on board a boat arrived in Hipodromo beach in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in northern Africa, after they managed to elude Spanish border patrols. The Spanish Civil Guard was alerted by the lifeguards of the arrival of the immigrants. In the meantime, the number of illegal migrants trying to cross the border fence of Ceuta has increased in the last weeks.
Since the beginning of the year, 2,266 attempts were registered while a total of 3,472 attempts to storm the fence were registered in 2016. Hundreds of migrants of sub-Saharan origin are waiting in Moroccan woods in the mountains close to Ceuta and Melilla for the right moment to cross into European territory.