The group included people from Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Among them were seven minors, four of whom were toddlers under 18 months old.
Maritime rescue teams transferred 327 migrants to the port of La Restinga in the Canary Islands' El Hierro, after intercepting two overcrowded wooden fishing boats (cayucos) during the night and early morning hours in waters close to the island, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Monday (December 8).
Medical and emergency personnel evaluated the group of migrants on shore. One person required evacuation to the Nuestra Señora de los Reyes Island Hospital in Valverde in Tenerife for further treatment.
The first boat, located late Monday night about 7 nautical miles (11 kilometers) south of La Restinga, was taken to port around 11:00 pm by the Salvamar Navia team. On board were 192 people from Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ghana and Sierra Leone, most of them men, according to EFE. Among them were 19 women and seven minors, including four toddlers under 18 months old, emergency services reported. Several migrants said that they had spent seven days at sea after departing from the coastal city of Barra in Gambia.
Migrants to be relocated outside EL Hierro
The second cayuco was detected in the early hours of the morning, less than two miles off the coast of El Hierro. The Salvamar Diphda rescue team accompanied the vessel to port at around 5:00 am. The boat was carrying 135 people of sub-Saharan origin, including five women and one child. Passengers said they had also been at sea for a week, having left from Abéné village in Senegal.
Upon arrival onshore, all migrants received assistance from the Red Cross Immediate Emergency Response Team (ERIE), the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), port security staff, the Civil Guard and the National Police, EFE reported.
After initial medical checks, they were transferred to the Temporary Foreigners Assistance Center (CATE) in the village of San Andrés in Valverde. There, they are being supported by members of the NGO “Corazón naranja – Ebrima Sonko” and will remain under police custody until they are relocated to facilities outside the island, authorities said.
Since the start of 2025, Spain has recorded more than 33,900 sea arrivals, with 16,886 arrivals via the West Africa Atlantic route (Canary Islands), according to the latest data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Mali, Senegal and Guinea make up the largest share of arrivals on this route, based on October 31 figures from the European border agency Frontex.
With EFE, Lusa