In addition to the nearly 1,000 people who died near the Spanish coast, hundreds of others have lost their lives in the first half of this year. Between 400 and 600 people perished in the worst boat disaster in two decades when a boat capsized near Greece following an alleged pushback. At least 209 Pakistanis were on the boat and only 12 of them survived, according to authorities.

Caminando Fronteras report indicates that for those who died near Spain, June was the deadliest month with 332 deaths. At least 138 died in January, 237 in February, 77 in March, and 37 in May.

At least 19 boats disappeared with everyone onboard.

More than 80% of the fatalities or disappearances occurred during attempts to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, some 67 miles (108 km) off the northwest African mainland, the report said.

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The migrants were from 14 countries Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Guinea-Conakry, Ethiopia, Comoros, Mali, Morocco, DR Congo, Senegal, Syria, Sri Lanka, and Sudan.

Apparently, no Pakistani was on these boats.

However, the fatality figure is less than half of the 2,087 registered during the first six months of 2021.

The group attributed the drop to fewer people trying to reach Spain due to Morocco tightening its crackdown on migrant crossings since Rabat and Madrid repaired diplomatic relations in March over Spain’s stance on Western Sahara.