The Caminando Fronteras non-governmental organization in Spain has confirmed that the “cayuco,” the 44-foot wooden boat found on 6 August 2024 off Gaspar Hernandez, Puerto Plata on the northern coast, had drifted this way from Africa and that 77 Africans had originally taken that trip. On board, local authorities identified 14 corpses.
The boat was sighted by Dominican fishermen and brought to the northern coast. IDs that were found in backpacks enabled the identification and tracing the boat occupants to Africa.
In June 2024, Caminando Fronteras had tweeted that 2024 was the most brutal year for those taking the dangerous Canary Island Route to get to Spain from Africa. The NGO said that 5,054 confirmed victims were accounted for in only the first five months of the year. In 2023, 40,000 persons did make it to the Canary Islands off the mainland of Spain. There is no toll on all those who have not made it.
The Canary Islands Route to migrate from Africa to Spain was first used in masse starting in the 1990s, but has become especially active in recent years. The Canary Islands are the closest point in Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa. From January to June 2024, some 21,470 have attempted the route, according to the Ministry of Interior of Spain, a 150% increase over the past year.
Most of those who take the Canary Islands Route are from Senegal, Gambia, Western Sahara, Morroco and Mauritania.
Diario Libre shares an EFE release whereby the NGO Caminando Fronteras says the migrant boat would have departed from Mauritania, Africa, on 22 January 2024 carrying 77 male migrants, including four minors. The Spanish NGO contacted the families of Senegalese youths Yankhoba Tall and Sidane Wade, as well as Mauritanian Abdouyale Yebba, whose identification documents were found among the deceased.
Follow the story in Spanish:
Diario Libre
El Informe con Alicia Ortega (33:30 mins of the video)
Caminando Fronteras
Walking Borders/Caminando Fronteras
27 August 2024