BBC Africa Eye investigates what is fast becoming the world’s deadliest migration route: the perilous Atlantic crossing from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Facing days, even weeks, on the open ocean, this year more than 70,000 irregular migrants and refugees have attempted this treacherous journey in overcrowded wooden boats.
From Senegal, it is an estimated distance of between 1,000km (600 miles) and 2,000km on the Atlantic Ocean to the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands regional government warns that what awaits migrants on the rocky shores is a system “overwhelmed” and “at breaking point”.
An estimated 807 people have died or disappeared on the Atlantic route so far in 2024 – a number that is likely to be significantly higher, because fatal accidents tend to go unrecorded.
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