Between January 6 and 8 over 780 migrants were rescued off the Canary coasts, as confirmed by the Spanish maritime rescue services, part of the Ministry of Transport.
Spanish maritime services rescued over 780 migrants between January 6 and 8. These individuals were traveling on ten boats in the Canary Islands archipelago, near the coasts of El Hierro and Lanzarote, as noted by the organization which is part of the Ministry of Transport.
Among the migrants, at least 73 women and 32 children and adolescents.
Over 2,000 persons arrived during the first week of 2025
The migrants were all assisted once they disembarked by Red Cross volunteers and by emergency medical services. After closing 2024 with record arrival figures of approximately 47,000 migrants, over 2,000 persons arrived in the first week of 2025, especially on the islands of El Hierro and Lanzarote, worsening the situation of migration flow emergency that does not seem to decrease along the Atlantic coast and North Africa and the Iberian archipelago.
In particular, at least 359 persons of sub-Saharan origin -- of which 25 were minors -- were rescued during the night and at dawn on January 7 on four different boats by the Spanish maritime system off the coast of the islands of El Hierro and Lanzarote, as confirmed to ANSA by the independent body of the Ministry of Transport.
The most numerous group of 143 persons -- including 47 women and 22 minors -- was aboard a dinghy and was found by the fishing boat "Golden Chica," which was 20 nautical miles south of the island of El Hierro. It was rescued on the evening of January 6 by the patrol boat Salvamar Adhara, which brought it to the local port of La Restinga. The migrants, of sub-Saharan origin, were assisted disembarking in El Hierro by Red Cross volunteers.
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Hundreds of arrivals between January 6 and 7
At dawn on January 7, the patrol boat Caliope of the Spanish maritime rescue service rescued two dinghies crammed with migrants of sub-Saharan origin. The first, with 78 persons on board, including one woman, was found 36 nautical miles east of the port of Arrecife, in Lanzarote. The patrol boat brought the migrants on board, and while headed to the island's port, it found a second rubber dinghy with 68 persons on board.
The group, 65 from the Maghreb region and 3 from the sub-Saharan region, was brought on board and arrived at the port of Arrecife.
On the morning of January 7, a fourth boat with 75 people on board, including two women, was rescued by the patrol boat Acrux at about seven nautical miles south of the island of El Hierro.
When they arrived at the port of La Restinga, the migrants were assisted by emergency health services and volunteers of the Red Cross. These arrivals were in addition to the approximately 374 migrants rescued on January 6 on five boats in the Atlantic archipelago.