According to a recent report by the Spanish human rights group Caminando Fronteras (Frontline Defenders), more than 11,200 migrants have been killed or gone missing while trying to reach Spain since 2018, an average of six per day.
The group said the route between Morocco and the Canary Islands alone accounted for 7,692 of these deaths.
Since late 2019, there has been an increase in the number of migrants attempting clandestine crossings along the dangerous Atlantic migration route as patrols in the Mediterranean intensified.
Spain’s interior ministry said on 15 December that a total of 27,789 migrants arrived illegally on Spanish territory this year, including 15,742 arrivals in the Canary Islands.