(Reuters) Spanish authorities fear that as many as 150,000 more migrants from Africa may be set to make the perilous crossing this year to the Canary Islands, already grappling with over 20,000 illegal arrivals so far, the regional leader said on Friday.
“We are seeing (mass arrivals) in August with bad sea conditions. In September, October and November it could be total distress,” Fernando Clavijo told a news conference after a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
He said charity groups working with migrants had warned of some 150,000 people, many fleeing armed conflict in Mali, preparing to cross first to neighbouring Mauritania and then by boat to the Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.
