Luxury Cruise ship Rescuesโ Migrants โinโฃ the Mediterranean,โค highlightingโ Surge in Arrivals to โSpain
Mediterranean Sea – โขA luxury cruise ship โhas rescued โขa small boat carrying migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, โคtheโฃ latest โincidentโ amid a dramatic increase in irregular migration โto Spain. The rescue underscores the escalating โขchallenges faced byโ Spanish authorities as arrivalsโ surgeโข via โboth sea โand land routes.
According to data released by the Spanishโ Ministry of the Interior, โ11,680 migrants arrived by sea toโ mainland Spain (5,853)โข and the Balearic Islands (5,827) in the current period -โข a 25.9% increase compared to the 9,278 arrivals recorded during the same period in 2023. These arrivals occurred via 743 boats, 13 โฃmore โthanโ lastโค year.
Irregularโฃ land crossings into the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta โand Melilla,located on the northern coast of โMorocco,have also risen sharply,with โข2,887 people entering – a 34% increase year-on-year. Six migrants arrived irregularly by sea in Ceuta, down from 23 last year, while 25 arrived in Melilla compared to โ21 โin the โฃsame period of 2023.
The โฃBalearic Islands, particularly Majorca, are experiencing a important spike in arrivals. Local officials report a 77% increase in small boat โฃlandings โthis year. Calvia council,overseeing popular resortsโฃ like Palmanova,Magaluf,Santa Ponsa,and Illetas,stated that a “small boat” is now โarrivingโ in โBalearic waters โapproximately every two โคhours. โข
“Weโ have never โคseen a situation like this in the Balearics.โฃ The problem is getting more serious every year,” said a council spokesperson. “the Council of Mallorca has demanded help from central government and even the European Union to โคprotect local borders.”
Further west, the Canary Islands โ- specifically theโค island of El Hierro – have become a primary arrival point for migrants travelingโ from West โAfrica, with overโ 20,000 arriving in 2024. โคThe influx is straining theโ island’s โlimited resources, with only around 20 doctors serving a population now burdened with providing care to those arriving after perilous journeys.
“Thisโ constant flow of โmigrants โtakes up aโ good part of our time to the detriment of โtheโค needsโฃ of theโ island’s citizens, which isโ why we need โanother hospital quickly,” a local doctor told The Guardian.
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