Tragedies Highlighting Dangers Faced by Migrants Crossing the Mediterranean and Atlantic

The latest tragedies have highlighted the dangers faced by migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says that "the only way to prevent these tragedies is to ensure that safe and legal pathways for asylum seekers and migrants to access protection exist." More than 30 people may have died in a shipwreck off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, according to two charities monitoring the situation. Walking Borders and Alarm Phone said the boat was carrying around 60 people and had sunk about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Gran Canaria on Wednesday.

Spanish authorities said they had found the bodies of a minor and a man, and rescued 24 others. The charities say that 39 people, including four women and a baby, may have drowned, while 35 are still missing. They monitor migrant boats and receive calls from people on board or their relatives. The incident has placed fresh scrutiny on Europe's response to migration, after a boat sank off Greece last week leaving at least 78 dead and up to 500 missing. Spanish authorities also rescued more than 160 people from three other boats near the islands of Lanzarote and Gran Canaria overnight on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Helena Maleno Garzon, from Walking Borders, said it was "torture" for those onboard to wait for more than 12 hours for a rescue in a flimsy boat. Angel Victor Torres, leader of the Canary Islands region, described the incident as a "tragedy" and called on the European Union to establish a migration policy that "offers coordinated and supportive responses" to the issue of migration. The Western Africa-Atlantic migration route is considered one of the world's deadliest, and at least 543 migrants died or went missing on that journey in 2022, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most of those making the journey are from Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, it said. The UN  while expressing displeasure over the second such tragic incident in 10 days again called upon the EU nations for creating and implementing equitable and efficient legal ways in consonance with all European member nations in order to prevent such tragedies in future