1,064 dead and missing in Spanish waters in 2018

According to official and NGOs data, 1,064 people (dead and missing), is the number of victims on the coasts of southern Spain as a result of emigration during 2018.

A parliamentary question tabled by Basque left EH-Bildu senator, Ion Iñarritu, asked the Spanish authorities to confirm these figures. These were indeed confirmed and claimed to have rescued 64,120 people during that period, (double that in 2017). The number of dead during 2018 amounted to 499 while 565 people are consigned as “missing”, a figures four times higher than the previous year.

The parliamentary answer by the government official in this matter, occurred a day after the presentation to Congress of 139,000 signatures, collected in a few days, by the NGO Humanitarian Maritime Rescue (SMH) and the crew of the rescue boat Open Arms, denouncing the prohibition issued to both Open Arms and Aita Mari ships to sail towards the central Mediterranean.

The renovated fishing boat Aita Mari (which enjoyed subvention of more than 300,000 euros from the Basque Autonomous Government), confirmed that at present there are no aid boats off the coast of Libya.

Basque senator Iñarritu said, referring to the retentions of the ships and to the change of policy by the Spanish Government: "They began by welcoming Open Arms and now they are preventing these very same boats from rescuing lives.”