The number of migrants and refugees who died trying to reach Spain topped 4,400 in 2021 -- more than double the total in the previous year, according to a monitoring group.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says in its report published on Monday that some 90% of those lost perished on 124 boats shipwrecked on their way to Spain's Canary Islands in the year to December 20.
Its estimate is several times that of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), which puts the total at 955 who died or went missing trying to reach the Canary Islands by December 22 but accepts the real figure may be much higher.
Walking Borders suggests more people are attempting to reach Spain via the Canaries route -- and dying doing so --
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