Nearly 230,000 migrants are reported to have reached Europe through the Canary Islands over the last 30 years. The archipelago's Governor Fernando Clavijo has warned that the migrant flow has pushed the Canary Islands to the brink of collapse, cautioning that "it could become a catastrophe."
Over the past three decades, nearly 230,000 people have crossed into Europe through the maritime route that connects the coast of Africa to the Canary Islands, figures from the Spanish interior ministry show. The UN International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 4,755 people have died during this crossing since 2014.
Meanwhile the NGO for migrants' rights Caminando Fronteras has estimated that 18,680 people have died since 2018. The data, quoted by Spain's EFE news agency, highlighted the ongoing emergency in the archipelago since the arrival of the first migrant boat with two youths hailing from western Sahara on August 28, 1994.
Since then, the islands, in spite of the dangers posed by the crossing, have progressively become the main point of entry into Spain for irregular migrants with constant arrivals -- over 22,300 from the beginning of the year until August 15, up 126 percent over the same period in 2023.
Also read: Report: 6,618 migrants died en route to Spain in 2023
'Point of collapse'
"We have reached a point of collapse," the archipelago's governor, Fernando Clavijo, told TVE in an interview aired on August 25. He expects over 700,000 migrants "in the coming weeks, when navigation conditions will improve," with migrants mainly hailing from Mauritania.
In order to deal with the emergency, Clavijo met on August 23 in La Palma with Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez, who has been undertaking since August 26 a visit to Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal, the countries of origin of migration flows, in an attempt to control the phenomenon.
Sanchez had already travelled to Mauritania in February with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to boost cooperation with the African country and halt arrivals at sea.
During that occasion, investments worth 300 million euros were announced by Spain for Mauritania in the coming years.
The cabinet has pledged to invest at least 50 million to deal with the emergency on the archipelago.
Clavijo highlighted the need for a mandatory mechanism to relocate migrants -- especially unaccompanied minors estimated to be around 5,200 -- between various Spanish regions.
Also read: Canary Islands preparing to care for up to 16,000 migrant minors