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AP Exclusive: Migrants trying to reach Europe pushed to deadly Atlantic
Migrants and asylum-seekers are increasingly crossing a treacherous part of the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago near West Africa, in what has become one of the most dangerous migration routes to European territory.
The shift in migration comes after the European Union funded Morocco to keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to southern Spain, reports Renata Brito.
Although sea arrivals to mainland Spain have decreased by 50% compared to last year, landings in the Canaries have increased by 550% and haven’t been this high in over a decade.
On August 19, 15 lifeless Malians were spotted inside a wooden boat by a Spanish plane 92 miles from the island of Gran Canaria and towed back to port.
More than 250 people have died or gone missing in the Atlantic route so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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