Overview
- Helena Maleno’s group Caminando Fronteras tallied 3,090 deaths or disappearances up to December 15, including 192 women and 437 children, across 303 documented tragedies.
- Deaths were concentrated on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands with 1,906 victims, while the Algeria–Balearic crossing accounted for 1,037 victims and 121 incidents, including many wholly vanished boats.
- Spain’s Interior Ministry reports irregular arrivals fell 40.4% year over year by December 15, with arrivals to the Canary Islands down about 59.9%.
- Caminando Fronteras argues the decline reflects route fragmentation rather than better protection, citing delayed or insufficient rescues and the outsourcing of border control to third countries.
- The NGO flags a newer, longer route from Guinea Conakry toward the Canaries and notes more attempts to reach Ceuta by swimming, where 139 deaths were recorded, 24% of them minors; UN data separately show 1,745 Mediterranean deaths in 2025, down 32%, with the central route still the deadliest.