Four people were found dead late on Tuesday and another four bodies were rescued on Wednesday morning. One of the 28 migrants rescued had to be transferred to a hospital. Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands have surged to 17,000 this year -- 10 times last year’s total -- as north and sub-Saharan Africans grow desperate after losing incomes from tourism, among sectors hit worst by the coronavirus pandemic. The perilous sea passage to the Canary Islands was once a more popular route but attempts became scarcer when Spain stepped up patrols in the mid-2000s. This year, with fewer options, migrants seeking an escape from poverty or conflict are again taking the longer, 1,400-km (870-mile) sea route to the islands off the Moroccan coast.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 25, 2020 07:30 UTC