ARQUINEGIN, Spain (Reuters) – Spain’s maritime rescue service said on Tuesday it had rescued a boat near the island of Gran Canaria carrying 84 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, one of whom died.
The Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa have been the main destination for migrants trying to reach Spain, with a very small number wanting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Spain. Summer is the busiest time for all crossing efforts.
The TV show showed emergency services helping the migrants get off, giving them blankets and putting some of them in wheelchairs. One of the passengers had to be carried on a stretcher.
Eight of the migrants, all men except one woman, were taken to hospital.
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The boat was located 8.5 nautical miles (15.7 km) from the island of Gran Canaria and the migrants were taken to the port of Arguineguin around 5 am local time (0400 GMT).
The Atlantic migration route, one of the deadliest in the world, is often used by migrants from sub-Saharan Africa trying to reach Europe.
Spanish government data showed that 5,914 people arrived in the Canary Islands between January and July this year, a decrease of 31.5% compared to the same period last year. But about 41% of them arrived in just one month between May 15 and June 15.
(Writing by Emma Pinedo; Editing by David Latona and Tomasz Janowski)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
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