Spain’s coastguard said Monday it had deployed a plane to search for 200 migrants aboard a boat missing in the Atlantic after setting off from the coast of Senegal.
Salvamento Maritimo said the rescue plane, which is based in the Canary Islands, was looking for a boat “that left Senegal with around 200 people on board”.
How dangerous is the migrant crossing to Spain?
The Atlantic migration passage, one of the deadliest in the world, is typically used by migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
In the first half of 2023, at least 951 migrants have died while trying to reach Spain by sea, a Spanish migrant rights group said last week.
The total includes 112 women and 49 children. Spanish figures show fewer boats arrived in the first six months, but the number of deaths is little higher when compared to last year.
According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, 12,192 people arrived by boat in the first half of 2023, 4% fewer than in the same period last year.
