Two More Migrant Boats Arrive in Canary Islands Following Fatal Sinking, Reports Reuters

EL HIERRO, Spain – Two boats carrying migrants arrived in the Canary Islands late on Sunday, while rescue operations continued for 48 individuals missing from a tragic maritime accident that could be one of the deadliest in the region for the past three decades.

Emergency services announced that one makeshift vessel, with 81 migrants on board, successfully reached Tenerife, the largest island in the Canaries. Among the migrants, at least one required hospitalization.

A second boat made it to Fuerteventura, the archipelago’s second-largest island, though authorities did not disclose how many migrants were on that vessel. Additionally, a third boat, carrying around 80 migrants, was approaching El Hierro, the smallest island in the group.

These crossings followed a tragic incident over the weekend, where at least nine people lost their lives in a sinking, and 48 others were reported missing, including a minor. Of the 84 individuals attempting to reach Spanish territory from West Africa, rescuers managed to save 27.

In response to the rising crisis, Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canary Islands, urged both mainland Spain and the European Union to take immediate action, as migrant crossings from West Africa to the archipelago have surged by 85% this year.

"This situation should compel us all to urgently pursue an agreement to address this issue," Clavijo remarked to reporters.

Data from the interior ministry indicates that from January 1 to September 15, 26,758 migrants made the treacherous journey from West Africa to the Canary Islands—a distance that can stretch over 800 miles (1,300 kilometers). Meanwhile, the influx of migrants from North Africa via central and western Mediterranean routes has seen a decline.

Local officials have noted that calm seas and mild winds typical of late summer in the Atlantic have contributed to this recent wave of migration.

Earlier this year, Clavijo projected that about 70,000 migrants could arrive in the Canary Islands by the end of the year, nearly double the record 39,910 arrivals in 2023.

The increasing number of migrants, driven by extreme poverty and political instability in Africa’s Sahel region, is heightening political tensions in Spain, particularly as mainland regions have been reluctant to accommodate migrants from the Canary Islands.

In the nearly 30 years of migrant crossings from West Africa to the Canaries, the most fatal recorded shipwreck occurred in 2009 off Lanzarote, where 25 individuals lost their lives.