More than 250 migrants from the Algerian coast have arrived in the Balearic Islands since Christmas, the authorities of this Spanish archipelago announced on Wednesday, December 28, describing this figure as “
significant
”.
"
We have had a significant arrival of irregular migrants on our coasts since Christmas Day, concretely 251 people, which is a significant figure
" but "
not the highest of the year
", declared the representative of the Spanish government in this Mediterranean archipelago, Aina Calvo, to several media.
24 minors
On Wednesday alone, at least 136 migrants arrived in the Balearic Islands, located more than 250 kilometers from the Algerian coast.
Most were from the Maghreb and the others from sub-Saharan Africa, the prefecture said in a statement.
Among the latter were 24 minors, added a national police officer on Spanish public television.
Aina Calvo spoke of "
a year (2022) that we are concluding with, to date, nearly 2,600 people
" arriving illegally on the archipelago, compared to 2,400 in 2021.
“
Therefore, the trend that we had had since the year 2019 is interrupted
,” she continued, pointing out that the increase in the number of migrants arriving in the Balearic Islands was previously “
exponential
”.
According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, 12,047 migrants arrived illegally in the Balearic Islands and mainland Spain between January 1 and December 15, 24.7% less than for the same period of 2021.
11,200 dead or missing migrants
If we add the arrivals in the Canary archipelago, off the northwest coast of Africa, the total rises to 27,789 people over the same period in 2022.
The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras published a report on December 19, citing more than 11,200 migrants who have died or disappeared since 2018 while trying to reach Spain, an average of six per day.
