Two migrants died while they were trying to reach the Canary Islands on a boat with 71 people on board, all of sub-Saharan origin, that reached the island of Tenerife on Wednesday. It was the first migrant boat to reach the archipelago in the new year.
The year 2025 began with tragedy along the perilous migration route between northwestern Africa and the Canary Islands. Two bodies, including that of a 15-year-old boy, were recovered from a sailboat that arrived in Tenerife at 10 am on Wednesday, January 1. The boat reached the Las Galletas area in the island's south.
Overall, 71 people of sub-Saharan origin were on the boat, the first to have reached the archipelago since the start of the year, the emergency services said.
Two other boats rescued with a total of 140 migrants
The vessel was sighted by a radar of the SIVE surveillance system (Sistema Integrado de Vigilancia Exterior, used to monitor Spain's maritime borders) some four miles from the island, prompting the deployment of the Acrux rescue vessel. However, the boat was able to reach the coast without aid.
The 69 survivors were assisted by Red Cross volunteers, who transferred two people to hospital due to hypothermia, among other problems.
Rescue workers also recovered the two deceased individuals, including the unaccompanied minor, who was identified through documents found on him. Autopsies will be carried out on the bodies of the two victims, who allegedly did not survive the crossing due to the cold temperature, to determine the exact cause of death.
On the same day, two other boats carrying a total of 140 migrants were rescued near El Hierro in the Canary Islands. The maritime rescue services escorted the boats to the port of La Restinga, where they arrived at 5 pm and 7 pm respectively.
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At least 10,400 migrants dead or missing in 2024 along the Atlantic route
It has been a dramatic beginning of the year for migrants who try to reach the coasts of southern Europe along the Atlantic route, which the United Nations has also confirmed to be one of the deadliest in the world.
At least 10,400 migrants have been reported dead or missing while trying to reach the Canary Islands, according to a report published by Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras covering the period between January 1 and December 15, 2024. The figure includes at least 421 women and 1,538 children and teens.
"The figures highlight a grave failure of the rescue and protection system", said Helena Maleno, coordinator of the report highlighting a 58 percent increase of victims compared to 2023 -- an "unstoppable" and endless tragedy.
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Counting the number of deaths
According to data from the Missing Migrants Project by the UN migration agency IOM, a total of 696 migrants have died or gone missing on the Canary Islands route in 2024. The discrepancy between the figures reported by Caminando Fronteras and the IOM can be attributed to differences in their data collection methods, sources, and reporting frameworks.
While the IOM collects data primarily from official sources, Caminando Fronteras' data is compiled from numerous other sources including first-hand accounts, hotlines set up for migrants who find themselves in trouble at sea and call for help, NGOs, and families who report relatives as missing. The NGO also takes into account so-called invisible shipwrecks where boats disappear without a trace.
According to data provided by the Spanish interior ministry, between January and mid-December last year, over 60,216 migrants landed on the Spanish archipelago, up 14.5 percent compared to the 52,592 who landed in 2023 in a new record of arrivals after the one registered in 2018.
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