Dilip Kuner
SPAIN’S Canary Islands have had another wave of migrants over the weekend, with more than 1,600 either landing or being rescued at sea.
One person is known to have died after their body was recovered from the waters off the island of El Hierro, according to emergency services.
So far this year the Canary islands – which are 100 kilometres of the Atlantic coast of Morocco – have received more than 11,000 migrants, mostly from North Africa.
This is the highest figure for a decade, although far short of the 30,000 arrivals in 2006.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 600 people have been confirmed dead or are missing on the perilous route from Morocco to the Canaries so far this year.
Migrant arrivals in the Canaries, as in the rest of Spain, are checked for coronavirus before being transferred to holding camps while their status is checked and a decision on whether to let them remain in the country is made.
This latest wave comes just a month after 1,000 migrants arrived in the Canaries in 48 hours.
