Aid group says 6,618 migrants died trying to reach Spain by boat in 2023, more than double 2022

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish non-profit organization says more than 6,600 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by boat last year. The figure is more than double the number in the previous year, when the organization, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), says 2,390 died. It says 2023 was the deadliest year since the organization began keeping records in 2007. Most of the 6,618 deaths recorded occurred on the Atlantic route from west Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, just west of Morocco. The 2023 figure included 363 women and 384 children. Spain’s interior ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived in Spain by boat last year, almost double the number in the previous year. The vast majority came on the Atlantic route.