At least 32 people drowned this Tuesday night on the coast of Dakhla (Western Sahara), on their way to the Canary Islands. Around 50 people were travelling on the seafront, of whom only ten were saved: six women and four men.

Although official data show 32 deaths, spokeswoman for Walking Borders, Helena Malero Garzón, and expert on migration, has recorded ten more: 30 women, eight children and four men.

Malero has reported on social networks what happened. It appears that within half an hour of the start of the journey, the migrant’s kick began to flood and hit. “A wave turned around the boat and that’s how tragedy happened.” Many migrants have lost their relatives in the accident.

A group of fishermen who were on a traditional boat has witnessed the events. With their boat, they have managed to rescue ten people and have alerted the Gendarmerie. According to the Dakhla News media, twelve bodies have been recovered upon the arrival of the police and civil protection personnel (only one of them has been located by Malero).

2,987 deaths in six months

The NGO Walking Borders has published data on the migration of the first six months of 2021. Among the cases that could be counted, 2,087 people have died in the attempt to reach the Spanish state between January and June of this year, compared to 2,170 all year 2020.

According to the El País medium, a total of 7,531 migrants have reached the Canary Islands in 2021 in 200 pateras. Compared to the same period of 2020, there has been an increase of 136%.