- More than 20,000 migrants arrived in Spain by sea in the first quarter of 2024
Dozens of sunbathing tourists watched in shock as 20 suspected migrants disembarked from a dinghy onto a packed beach in the Spanish islands.
The vessel pulled into the cove and stopped on the shoreline in Cala Gran Santanyí, Mallorca, Spain, on Tuesday around 6pm.
Video shared on social media shows how roughly 20 people - mostly young men - got off the boat and dodged beach towels as they walked in single file across the sand.
The migrants appeared to be in good health and physical condition. But most seemed to have with them only a small rucksack or the clothes they were wearing.
The boat was reportedly the fifth to arrive in the Balearic Islands on Tuesday.
Dozens of sunbathing tourists watched in shock as 20 suspected migrants disembarked from a dinghy onto a packed beach in Cala Gran Santanyí, Mallorca, Spain, on Tuesday around 6pm
Roughly 20 people - mostly young men - got off the boat and dodged beach towels as they walked in single file across the sand
Two boats had landed in Formentera around 9am Tuesday. One has 15 people on board and the other was carrying 11.
A third vessel had arrived in Formentera around 10.30am, carrying another 15 people.
And at 10.50 am, 18 people had been rescued south of Cabrera from a fourth boat.
It's not known how long the people spent seaborne as they made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.
More than 20,000 migrants - including 1,500 children - arrived in Spain by sea in the first quarter of 2024.
Eighty per cent of arrivals were headed to the Canary Islands, Birmingham Live reported, making the journey the most heavily used migration route to Europe this year.
Vicent Mari, President of the Council of Ibiza, has called for a crackdown on illegal migration, telling a Town Hall last week that the 'situation requires care services that are neither prepared nor sized to deal with this issue'.
'We need the provision of the necessary surveillance and resources to prevent and control this massive arrival,' he told the audience.
The migrants appeared to be in good health and physical condition. But most seemed to have with them only a small rucksack or the clothes they were wearing
The vessel pulled into the cove and stopped on the shoreline in Cala Gran Santanyí, Mallorca, Spain , on Tuesday around 6pm
The boat was reportedly the fifth to arrive in the Balearic Islands on Tuesday
Bárbara González del Río, Migration Specialist at Save the Children Spain, warned that officials are anticipating a 'significant increase in crossings during the summer months'.
'As long as there is a need in the countries of origin, people will continue to move, and the migratory flow towards Europe will continue to exist,' she said, according to the newspaper.
Noting how more than 5,700 migrant children are already under guardianship care in the Canary Islands, he added: 'Support systems are overwhelmed
'Urgent action is needed from other communities to alleviate this critical situation. The Spanish government and autonomous communities must swiftly find solutions.'
