Over roughly four days during the last week of 2022, more than 500 illegal migrants landed on Spanish coasts, specifically eastern Andalusia and the Balearic Islands. They travelled on a total of 36 boats, departing mostly or entirely from Algeria.
The wave began as two boats carrying 28 persons were detected by rescue services off a port in Granada. Following this, several more vessels arrived in the Balearic Islands, Alicante and Murcia.
The last Wednesday of 2022 was the most intense in terms of arrivals, with eight boats carrying 152 illegal migrants reaching Spain. However, these are only the vessels that were identified and processed by law enforcement. It is likely many more go undetected.
Members of the National Police have complained that they lack sufficient resources to properly address the sheer scale of arrivals.
