Six bodies lay on Los Muertos beach in Carboneras when dawn broke on Sept 3. A seventh turned up on Las Salinas beach nearby, in Cabo de Gata. Both stretches of sand are in Andalusia, in southern Spain.
Local authorities told AFP that all seven were migrants whose boats had sunk. The wrecks happened overnight, and the bodies were found only at first light, according to a source close to the investigation.
Not everyone aboard died. Twenty-six migrants were pulled from a boat that ran aground on Los Muertos beach, though it is not clear how many people were travelling on it in total. The second boat, the one that reached Cabo de Gata, was carrying 38 people.
Authorities have not ruled out finding more bodies in the coming hours. The migrants are believed to have set out from Algeria, the source said.
Spain’s arrival numbers
Spain is one of three main entry points for irregular migrants heading to Europe, along with Italy and Greece. Authorities say thousands have died in recent years attempting the Atlantic crossing from Africa, mainly toward the Canary Islands.
Interior ministry data show 21,721 people arrived in Spain by sea between January and August. Of those, 4,722 landed on the mainland. In all, 357 boats reached the mainland between Jan 1 and Aug 31.
The Canary Islands remain the main entry point, but arrivals there have dropped sharply this year, down 35 per cent from the same period in 2024. Strong ocean currents and ramshackle vessels make that long crossing especially dangerous.
The route from North Africa to the Balearic Islands, through the calmer Mediterranean, has gone the other way. Arrivals there are up 79 per cent this year.
