More and more migrants are dying off the coast of Alicante

The bodies of five migrants discovered bound a week ago on the coast of the Balearic Islands after drowning on a boat that arrived in Alicante are only one of the countless everyday tragedies that occur on the perilous routes that connect Spain and Africa.

The number of casualties in the first five months of 2025 has decreased significantly, from 5,054 in the same period in 2024 to 1,865, a 63% decrease.

Despite the dramatic drop, figures from the Ca-Minando Fronteras platform report highlight a concerning fact: an increasing number of individuals are dying on the Alicante coastline.

This is the result of a shift in migration along the western Euro-African border, which is increasingly looking for entry points via the Spanish Levant and the Balearic Islands.

The death toll in the waters off the southeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula has risen to 328 migrants between January 1st and May 31st, the most recent known period.

Compared to the 175 deaths in the same period last year, this marks an 87% increase in the number of people killed in the Mediterranean. Two people are slain every day on the so-called Algerian route.

This figure represents a shift in the victims’ origins. “The number of people transiting through Algeria has increased significantly, particularly Somali nationals,” says Ca-Minando Fronteras.

The majority of migrants on this journey are from Algeria, but the organisation recorded victims from up to 17 different nationalities across all routes last year.

“The increased diversity of nationalities on the route is a result of militarisation and efforts to restrict the Alboran and Strait routes. One of the causes contributing to the recent increase in victims is a paucity of resources dedicated to the search for vessels,” they claim.

Other routes

The Atlantic route remains the most popular way for migrants seeking to reach Spanish soil, and as a result, it has the highest number of casualties.

This route, which leads to the congested Canary Islands, accounts for the majority of migration and 80 percent of mortality.

Although the number of deaths has fallen by 70% this year, 1,482 out of 1,865 have died.

Of this total, 112 women and 342 children have died, and 38 vessels are missing, with all crew members aboard.

This route, in turn, contains three sub-routes. The journey from Mauritania has claimed the most victims, totalling 1,318.

In addition, there are 110 victims on the Senegal and Gambia routes, where departures from these ports have decreased significantly, and 54 victims on the coastal area between Agadir and Dakhla.

On the other hand, the Alboran road has dramatically reduced fatalities, with only three documented, a 93% decrease from 47 in 2024.

While the Strait route, with 52, more than doubles from 24 in 2024.

“These figures clearly show the effects of a policy more concerned with immigration control than with defending the right to life,” according to their paper.

According to the paper, immigration control measures and a decline in standards for preserving life at sea were determining factors in 47% of the fatalities studied.