Spanish rescue workers brought 200 people aboard a wooden boat to El Hierro in the Canary Islands on November 16. The Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwestern coast, have become a key destination for migrants and refugees making dangerous crossings on such boats.
The Spanish maritime rescue service escorted 200 migrants aboard a wooden boat (cayuco) to the port of La Restinga, El Hierro, in the Canary Islands on Saturday, November 16. The boat was located about 16 kilometers south of La Restinga, according to the Spanish news agency Efe.
The passengers reportedly included 23 women and two babies, and emergency medical teams confirmed that all the rescued individuals were in good health.
The Acrux rescue boat was mobilized at around 9:30 am after the Spanish Civil Guard reported a distress call about a boat in distress. It was the first rescue carried out by the Acrux rescue boat, a maritime rescue support vessel operating in El Hierro.
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Smallest island, largest number of irregular arrivals
The Canary Islands, an archipelago consisting of seven islands in the Atlantic Ocean, sits off Africa's northwestern coast making it a popular landing point for people making irregular crossings into Europe. El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands located at the southwestern tip of the Canary Islands and has a population of close to 12,000 people.
In 2024, boat arrivals in El Hierro continued to increase. Across 10 days in August, an estimated 1,007 people reportedly arrived, hailing from Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Mali, Guinea Conakry, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. An average of about 45 people reportedly arrive in El Hierro every day.
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More youth arrivals
A deadly shipwreck last month which reportedly claimed nine lives, drew a sharp line to the increasing number of irregular arrivals on El Hierro, especially among young people who are sometimes unaccompanied.
The increasing number of youth arrivals, especially unaccompanied minors, is putting a strain on resources in El Hierro. Under Spanish law, regional authorities are responsible for the guardianship of minors. However, asylum applications from minors cannot be processed by the central government in Madrid, and these minors cannot be transferred to the mainland for housing and schooling. Local authorities have warned that they do not have the capacity to process and assist these asylum applications.
The head of the regional government of the Canaries, Fernando Clavijo, called for an amendment to this law to allow young people who arrive irregularly on the island to be transferred to other regions in Spain.
Last month, local media reported that the Spanish government promised 100 million euros to support unaccompanied migrant minors on the Canary Islands, after the regional government said their system was "on the brink of collapse."
According to government data from the Spanish Interior Ministry, 3,644 asylum applications were received nationwide in October, with nearly an equal number of men and women seeking international protection. Minors or those who are 17 years old or younger comprised 23 percent of all applications while those between the ages of 18-34 comprised 33 percent. The highest number of applications were filed by those between the ages of 35-64 at 37 percent.