Three boats carrying over 300 irregular migrants suddenly went missing in the Atlantic Ocean, said migrant aid group Walking Borders on Sunday, prompting a frantic search by authorities.
Walking Borders spokesperson Helena Maleno informed that the boats had embarked from Senegal 15 days ago towards the Canary Islands in Spain, reported Anadolu Agency. There were 200 migrants on one boat, 65 and 60 migrants on the other two respectively.
The families of the missing migrants are concerned about their wellbeing, according to Maleno.
Irregular migration from Africa to Canary Islands has become one of the most common processes in recent years. The flow of migrants is especially high in summer.
Last year, as many as 559 irregular migrants, including 22 children, while trying to reach the Canary Islands, according to the United Nations International Organisation of Migration (IOM). Walking Borders said that the number of deceased migrants was 1,784 in 2022.
The IOM said 15,682 people arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands in 2022, a decrease of 30 per cent compared to 2021, citing Spain's Interior Ministry.
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