August proves deadliest month for migrants braving Atlantic
ABC News
The International Organization for Migration says migrant deaths along the Atlantic route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands reached a record high last month with 379 lives lost at sea
DAKAR, Senegal -- Migrant deaths along the Atlantic route from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands reached a record high last month with 379 lives lost, the International Organization for Migration said Friday.
Those deaths account for nearly half the total number of casualties for all of 2021 — 735 adults and 50 children — according to the United Nations agency’s Missing Migrants Project.
More than 9,300 people have arrived in the Canary Islands by sea in the first eight months of 2021, a significant increase from 2020 when 3,933 arrived. The Atlantic route is one of the most dangerous sea crossings to Europe.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to counter it have added to the many other reasons for people to risk migrating by sea: conflict, poverty and limited legal migration channels.
