About ten days ago several small boats set sail for the Pitiüses from the region of Boumerdés in northern Algeria, just 160 miles from the Balearic Islands. Only one arrived on Eivissa, on November 9th, with eleven migrants on board safe and sound. At least 50 migrants traveling in two other boats never arrived.
At that time the sea conditions south of the western Mediterranean were not very favorable for a crossing, and even less so in boats in such poor condition.
As confirmed by Diario de Ibiza, the missing people were distributed in two inflatable boats equipped with 50 and 60hp engines and never reached their destination. They were engulfed by the sea.
23 people were crammed into one of them, 10 of whom were of sub-Saharan origin and the rest Algerian. All missing.
The information was confirmed by the NGO Héroes del Mar, through its spokesperson. In addition, a social educator who is dedicated to the search and identification of immigrants who set sail from Algeria reiterated the aforementioned disappearances and regretted that in that skiff there were three people from her hometown: “They left last Tuesday [November 8]” she confirmed.
Migrants taking the Balearic route
Since 2017, the illegal entry of migrants from the Maghreb has grown steadily.
In just this October 152 migrants arrived in the Pitiüses, a fact that confirms the expansion of this migratory route from the north of Algeria , with origin from the region of Boumerdes, to the Balearic Islands. In recent years, the arrival of people coming from or originating in other countries of the African continent has been increasingly observed.
Also, the flow of migrants has been increasing towards the islands. Thus, this route has become a kind of technical stop for this migratory flow, most of which aims to reach France.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.