Number of small boats arriving in Almeria soars with 351 migrants arriving in twelve days

Migrants

The Red Cross has carried out 19 rescue operations since 25 June following the arrival of boats at various coves and beaches in the province

Nerea Escámez

Almería

In just twelve days, the coast of Almeria has once again witnessed migrant landings from so-called ‘patera-taxis’ and ‘narcolanchas’- small boats used by ... people-smuggling gangs to travel from the Moroccan coast to Andalucía.

The steady stream of arrivals at Almeria’s beaches and coves is keeping Red Cross teams and volunteers on high alert; in less than two weeks, they have assisted 351 migrants who arrived in small boats. Provisional figures provided by the Red Cross to IDEAL show 19 beach rescues since 25 June.

The most recent took place at around 4am on Tuesday 7 July when the organisation’s rescue teams and volunteers attended to 24 people after they had reached the shore. They were subsequently taken to the temporary reception centre for foreign nationals (CATE).

The operations carried out during this period have varied considerably, ranging from landings involving as few as two or five people to others with 46 and 47 occupants, reflecting the intensity and variability of the migratory flow over the last two weeks, which has also been facilitated by favourable sea conditions.

The use of these small speedboats, usually associated with drug trafficking, highlights how the mafias involved in people-smuggling are adapting their methods. In many cases, the boats do not even reach the shore, forcing migrants to jump into the water several metres from the coast and swim the final few metres – a manoeuvre that increases the risk of the crossing, as some hit the rocks or the boat itself.

In fact one man died after being hit by a wave as he came ashore at La Fabriquilla beach. In May, the toll of the tragedy surrounding the migrants arriving in Almeria was shown in the presence of several bodies that had been swept away by the current in areas such as Carboneras and Garrucha.

According to figures from the NGO Caminando Fronteras, 3,090 victims were recorded in 2025 along the various routes into Spain. These are people who have died or gone missing; the majority are men, although records show that 192 women and 437 minors died in the more than 300 tragedies recorded up to 15 December.