The body of a young migrant of sub-Saharan origin was found on Saturday morning in the Bidassoa, the river separating Spain and France, announced the Spanish authorities and the French firefighters of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (south-west).
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The firefighters first explained that they had recovered the body of a man at the international bridge of Béhobie after being warned around 6:00 am and having entrusted it to the authorities on the Spanish side, in Irun.
The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to AFP that the body of a migrant had been discovered in the river.
He is a man "
20 to 25 years old
" whose body was recovered "
in good condition
", which suggests "
a recent death
", she said on Twitter.
"
I do not know yet if it is a migrant but in any case the previous bodies found in the river were those of migrants
", for his part indicated to AFP Philippe Aramendi, the mayor of Urrugne, the French commune. where is the Béhobie bridge.
“7 or 8 migrants have died in recent months”
"
At least 7 or 8 migrants have died in recent months trying to swim across the Bidassoa
", a river "
which is very dangerous with enormous currents
", he added.
“
We have been worried about this situation for months and months, but nothing is changing.
On the contrary, border controls are increasingly reinforced and it feels like a state of siege
,” lamented the elected representative, of the abertzale tendency (Basque patriotic left), regretting that “
people who try to help these migrants without compensation, simply in the name of brotherhood, are sometimes arrested
”.
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Faced with the increase in controls at the Franco-Spanish border, migrants are taking more and more risks to enter France.
More than half are from Maghreb countries and a third from French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal), according to French authorities.