A wooden boat (cayuco) carrying 198 people, among them a three-month-old baby and 18 minors, arrived on Monday afternoon at the port of La Restinga, on the island of El Hierro, reported the Spanish news agency EFE. The boat was escorted by a vessel from the maritime rescue service.

The cayuco was detected approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the coast by the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) radar, enabling the deployment of the Salvamar Navia to escort the vessel to port to disembark the migrants. The 198 migrants are said to be from Gambia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Guinea, and Senegal, according to information provided to emergency services. The migrants reported that they had departed seven days earlier from the town of Barra in Gambia.

Upon arrival at the dock, they received assistance from the Red Cross, the Canary Islands Emergency Service, the National Police, and the Civil Guard. Two women were initially transferred to local medical centers with symptoms of hypothermia and dehydration.

65 migrants rescued off Lanzarote and Mallorca

On the weekend, Spanish Maritime Rescue services rescued 50 migrants of Maghrebi origin who were found adrift nearly 100 kilometers off the coast of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, EFE news agency reported on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a separate boat carrying 15 people was intercepted approximately six kilometers off the coast of Colònia de Sant Jordi, in Mallorca, as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea continue to grapple with increasing migrant arrivals and growing political tensions over the relocation of unaccompanied minors.

The inflatable boat near Lanzarote, carrying 49 men and one woman, was first spotted shortly after midnight on Saturday by the fishing vessel Santuario Barquereño. The crew alerted the maritime rescue service, reporting that the migrants had been left adrift after their motor ran out of fuel. The rescue ship Guardamar Polimnia was dispatched and reached the scene around 4:00 am, transferring all 50 individuals aboard and transporting them to the port of Arrecife. Disembarkation began at 7:30 am on Sunday, according to maritime rescue sources.

On the same weekend, authorities in the Balearic Islands intercepted another migrant boat carrying 15 people off the coast of Mallorca. This brings the total number of irregular migrant arrivals in the Balearics to 295 boats and 5,480 individuals so far this year, according to EFE, citing local government figures in the Balearic Islands.

The Ministry of the Interior's Annual National Security Report places the number of sea arrivals to the archipelago in 2024 at 5,882 migrants.

Island authorities call for reassessment of migrant children redistribution

Amid the rise in arrivals, the regional government of the Balearic Islands is pushing back against a central government plan to redistribute unaccompanied migrant minors from the Canary Islands. This week, the Balearic government received a proposal to accept two unaccompanied minors, prompting a strong reaction from Vice President Antoni Costa.

Costa announced that the regional government will formally oppose the transfer and prevent their arrival. If the initial arguments are rejected, the Balearic Executive plans to appeal to the courts and request a precautionary suspension of the transfers, EFE reported.

In addition to the proposed transfers, Costa confirmed that 18 more unaccompanied migrant minors arrived in Mallorca by boat this week. The islands are now home to more than 700 migrant children and adolescents, many of whom are facing serious difficulties, he said during a press conference following the weekly Consell de Govern meeting.

As migrant arrivals continue to place a strain on local resources and services, the Balearic government has called for a reassessment of national redistribution policies and a clearer plan to manage unaccompanied minors arriving by sea.

 With EFE