El Hierro Island, CANARY ISLANDS, 03 Sept. - (ANA)- More than 80 people - including a baby - have died while making the journey from Gambia to Spain’s Canary Islands.

 

The boat, carrying 128 people, was rescued early on Thursday after being found adrift south of the Canary Islands, according to Spanish news agency EFE. Only 45 survivors and five bodies were found on board.

 

The Civil Guard has confirmed to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras that inscriptions on the boat's hull match those of a vessel that left Gambia on September 7 carrying 128 people, including a baby.

 

After being brought ashore at the port of Arguineguín, on the south-west coast of Gran Canaria, survivors told the Red Cross that they had set off for the Canary Islands with "more than one hundred people".

 

It comes after at least 100 people died while an estimated 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and July 31, according to figures from Ceuta's mayor.

 

In 2025, 3,090 people - including 437 children - drowned while trying to reach Spain by sea, according to Caminando Fronteras.

 

Between January 1 and August 15 this year, 9,603 people arrived in Spain by sea, with 4,808 reaching the Canary Islands, according to official data.

 

More than a quarter of those who reached the Canary Islands this year via what is known as the West African Atlantic route were from Senegal, while around one in five were from Gambia, according to data by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.

 

Official figures show that irregular migration to the European Union - via the Mediterranean routes - has plummeted since its peak during the 2015 refugee crisis.

 

In Greece, arrivals by small boat have fallen from 856,723 in 2015 to 41,696 in 2025 - a 95 per cent drop.

 

In Italy, sea arrivals have fallen from 153,842 in 2015 to 66,316 in 2025 - a 57 per cent decrease.

 

In Spain, the number of people arriving by sea via the Western Mediterranean route fell from 57,264 in 2018 to 17,993 in 2025 - a 69 per cent decrease.

 

Arrivals via the Western African Atlantic route peaked at 46,843 in 2024 before falling to 17,788 in 2025 - a 62 per cent decrease.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/03 September 2026 - - -