Fifty-five West African migrants were intercepted by Guinea-Bissau’s coastguard on Sunday while attempting to cross the Atlantic to reach Spain, the country’s interior ministry confirmed.
The group was stopped near an island in the Cacheu region, close to Guinea-Bissau’s border with Senegal. According to Jose Becuque, the coastguard officer who led the operation, those on board included 41 men—one of whom was a boy around 10 years old—and 14 women. All were nationals of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau’s 200-kilometre stretch of Atlantic coastline has become a departure hub for many seeking to reach Europe through the Spanish Canary Islands. The route is known for its dangers, with migrants often traveling in overcrowded and unsafe boats.
Efforts are now underway to identify and apprehend those responsible for organizing the journey. “We will work to find the people behind this. It’s likely we will be able to identify them,” Becuque said in a phone interview.
Migrants frequently navigate through the Bijagos Archipelago, a chain of around 88 islands off Guinea-Bissau’s coast, many of which are uninhabited and used as staging points for such trips.
According to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, nearly 10,500 migrants have died or gone missing at sea so far in 2024, highlighting the ongoing risks associated with irregular migration by sea.
Spain has reported a decline in migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands this year. Between January and mid-May, 10,882 people made the crossing, marking a 34% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. Last year saw a record 46,843 arrivals, according to data from Spain’s interior ministry.