Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands continue: At least 340 persons on board five boats were rescued between Sunday and Tuesday off the coasts of the islands of El Hierro and Tenerife.
Between Monday and Tuesday (November 25-26), two ships carrying 85 and 75 people disembarked on the island of El Hierro, the smallest and westernmost of the Canary Islands.
On Tuesday morning, maritime rescue services set out to rescue a third makeshift boat that had been spotted by air 37 kilometers from the island, according to emergency services. A search for this vessel was still ongoing by the time of reporting.
The arrival of 160 persons was added to the 178 migrants, among them six children, who had been rescued on three different ships and intercepted between Sunday and Monday by the maritime rescue team off the coasts of the islands of El Hierro and Tenerife.
More than 40,000 migrants have arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands since the beginning of the year, making 2024 the year with the highest number of such arrivals in history, surpassing the total recorded for all of 2023 (39,910), according to figures from the Spanish interior ministry.
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