More than 1,300 migrants have died trying to reach the Spanish coast in the first five months of 2026, according to data from a rights group that tracks migrant routes by sea from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
“Caminando fronteras” (Caminando Fronteras) today published a report ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago that has been the target of a sharp increase in illegal migration over the past decade.
The report claims that 1,317 people died while trying to reach the Spanish coast, including 142 women and 129 children, during the first five months of 2026. This includes 27 boats that disappeared with all their passengers on board.
The pope focused on the treatment of migrants during his visit to Spain this week, describing their plight as a problem that challenges the ethical foundations of international order.
Human rights groups have said migrants are taking longer and riskier routes across the Atlantic to avoid detection as efforts to stop the crossings have intensified in places such as Mauritania, which is close to Europe.
In 2025, 3,090 people died or went missing while trying to reach the Spanish coast, according to the group.
The shortest distance between the Canary Islands and the West African coast is approximately 100 km.
Migrants also often try to swim along various routes from Morocco to Spain - a distance of about 20 km.