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Date Published: 18/10/2021

ARCHIVED - Hundreds of immigrants flocked to Spain over the weekend

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The coasts of Andalucía, Valencia and Murcia have been inundated with irregular immigrants

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Hundreds of immigrants flocked to Spain over the weekend

It’s been a tragic weekend for irregular immigrants arriving on Spanish shores as the authorities have reported that some 540 people have tried to illegally make their way to Spain over the past couple of days alone. Among them were several minors and pregnant women. The boats reached the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, as well as the Mediterranean coasts of Valencia, Murcia and Andalucía.

Sadly, one patera – the name given to a small migrant boat – disappeared in the Cape Trafalgar area on Thursday October 14 with 28 people on board and the search for the wreck continues after the bodies of ten people were discovered in the area.

On Sunday morning, 16 boats were intercepted at different points of the Balearic Islands with 203 migrants on board, including three pregnant women. Around 90 people arrived at the Canary Islands, 45 to Gran Canaria, one of whom was a deceased woman, and another 45 to Lanzarote, including 15 women, a baby and four minors, all of sub-Saharan origin. These arrivals follow the news that a pregnant immigrant had given birth to twins en route to Gran Canaria on Thursday October 14.

In the Community of Valencia, 73 immigrants were rescued off the eastern coast of Alicante over the weekend, all of Algerian origin and in apparent good health, according to the Red Cross. In Andalucía, 62 people arrived on the southern coast of Cádiz in four separate boats, while eight immigrants were intercepted in the Spanish autonomous community of Ceuta on the border with Morocco. In addition, ten boats were rescued in the waters of Murcia carrying 103 people.

The number of irregular immigrants flocking to Spain has skyrocketed in recent months, with an increase of 51% between January and September this year compared to the same period in 2020. According to the latest data published by the Ministry of the Interior, 28,729 people illegally entered Spain during this period, the vast majority by sea.

Image: Salvamento Maritimo

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