Cruise ship rescues 68 migrants headed for Spanish Canary Islands from rough Atlantic

[KARAH RUCKER]

A LUXURY CRUISE SHIP RESCUED DOZENS MIGRANTS ADRIFT IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ON THURSDAY, JUNE 20. SPANISH AUTHORITIES SAY THE MIGRANTS WERE TRYING TO REACH THE SPANISH CANARY ISLANDS. 

THE CRUISE SHIP INSIGNIA WAS NEAR THE END OF ITS 180-DAY TRIP AROUND THE WORLD WHEN IT GOT THE CALL FOR HELP. AUTHORITIES SAY 68 PEOPLE WERE RESCUED, BUT AT LEAST FIVE DIED. 

A PASSENGER ONBOARD THE CRUISE TOLD CBS NEWS THE MIGRANTS WERE FROM AFRICA AND HAD BEEN AT SEA FOR 20 TO 30 DAYS. 

THE SPANISH CANARY ISLANDS HAVE BECOME THE MAIN POINT OF ENTRY TO SPAIN FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS FROM AFRICA IN RECENT YEARS AND THE DEADLIEST. WALKING BORDERS, A MIGRATION RIGHTS GROUP, SAID LAST WEEK NEARLY 5,000 MIGRANTS DIED AT SEA ON THAT ROUTE DURING THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 2024. 

LAST YEAR ALONE, SPAIN RECORDED MORE THAN 55,000 MIGRANTS ARRIVED BY SEA—MOST OF THEM TO THE CANARY ISLANDS. THAT’S ALMOST DOUBLE THE NUMBER FROM 2022. AND SO FAR IN 2024, MORE THAN 23,000 HAVE LANDED, ACCORDING TO SPAIN’S INTERIOR MINISTRY.